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Pitch stand still to the right of a snake (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

asphalt

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'pitch' is the definition.
(pitch mixture for surfacing roads)

'stand still to the right of a snake' is the wordplay.
'stand still' becomes 'halt' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to the right of' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a snake' becomes 'asp' (asp is a kind of snake).
'halt' after 'asp' is 'ASPHALT'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for asphalt that I've seen before include "that's found on the way" , "Bituminous substance used in building" , "Bituminous substance used for roofs and roads" , "Bituminous road dressing" , "Substance used in roofing and paving" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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