Crossword Genius

East wind leading to death or removal of rock, perhaps (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

steadying

'removal of rock perhaps' is the definition.
(rock as in swaying unsteadily)

'east wind leading to death' is the wordplay.
'wind' is an anagram indicator.
'leading to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (some letters go before or lead others).
'death' becomes 'dying' ('dying' can be a synonym of 'death'**).
'east' with letters rearranged gives 'stea'.
'stea'+'dying'='STEADYING'

'or' is the link.

(Other definitions for steadying that I've seen before include "Making firm, supporting" , "making stable" .)

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