Crossword Genius

Boy going round yard snooping (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nosy

'snooping' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'boy going round yard' is the wordplay.
'boy' becomes 'son' ('son' can be a synonym of 'boy'**).
'going round' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'yard' becomes 'y'.
'son' back-to-front is 'nos'.
'nos'+'y'='NOSY'

(Other definitions for nosy that I've seen before include "Prying, snoopy" , "lots of questions" , "Showing too much curiosity about people's affairs" , "Inclined to poke into other people's affairs" , "Inquisitive in nasal manner" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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