With great intelligence I pass back the local spirit (6,4)
I believe the answer is:
genius loci
'local spirit' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'with great intelligence i pass back' is the wordplay.
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'great intelligence' becomes 'genius' (I've seen this before).
'pass' becomes 'col' (col is a term for a mountain pass).
'back' says the letters should be written backwards.
'i'+'col'='icol'
'icol' back-to-front is 'loci'.
'genius' next to 'loci' is 'GENIUS LOCI'.
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for genius loci that I've seen is " spirit in the neighbourhood".)