Crossword Genius

West and east winds blow (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

waste

'blow' is the definition.
(I know that blow can be written as waste)

'west and east winds' is the wordplay.
'west' becomes 'w' (abbreviation).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'winds' is an anagram indicator (the letters wind around).
'east' with letters rearranged gives 'aste'.
'w'+'aste'='WASTE'

(Other definitions for waste that I've seen before include "Unwanted material" , "Spend to no purpose" , "desert" , "kill" , "Use inefficiently or inappropriately" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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