Crossword Genius

Working a lot with poles and nails (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

talons

'nails' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'working a lot with poles' is the wordplay.
'working' indicates anagramming the letters.
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'poles' becomes 'NS' (North and South poles).
'a'+'lot'='alot'
'alot' is an anagram of 'talo'.
'talo'+'ns'='TALONS'

'and' is the link.

(Other definitions for talons that I've seen before include "Sharp hooked claws" , "Hooked claws of birds of prey" , "Claws of a bird" , "Sharply hooked claws" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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