Crossword Genius

African native given a set of books to carry (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

antbear

'african native' is the definition.
(animal native to Africa)

'given a set of books to carry' is the wordplay.
'given' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'set of books' becomes 'NT' (New Testament).
'to carry' becomes 'bear' (bear can mean to transport or carry).
'a' next to 'nt' is 'ant'.
'ant'+'bear'='ANTBEAR'

(Another definition for antbear that I've seen is " Aardvark".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app