Crossword Genius

Avoid having nasty pest on team (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sidestep

'avoid' is the definition.
(sidestepping is a kind of avoiding)

'nasty pest on team' is the wordplay.
'nasty' is an anagram indicator.
'on' means one lot of letters goes inside another (as in clothing \'on\' a person).
'team' becomes 'side' (I've seen this before**).
'pest' with letters rearranged gives 'step'.
'step' placed around 'side' is 'SIDESTEP'.

'having' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for sidestep that I've seen before include "Shift to right or left" , "Find a way round" , "To avoid" , "Dodge - circumvent" , "Dodge (an issue?)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.