Reptile growing large in area with nothing around opposing? (8)
I believe the answer is:
anaconda
'reptile' is the definition.
(anaconda is a kind of reptile)
'area with nothing around opposing?' is the wordplay.
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'nothing' becomes 'nada' (synonyms).
'around' indicates putting letters inside.
'opposing?' becomes 'con' (I've seen this in another clue).
'nada' going around 'con' is 'naconda'.
'a'+'naconda'='ANACONDA'
'growing large in' acts as a link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for anaconda that I've seen before include "Large South America snake" , "One can get crush on" , "Large boa of South America" , "Large semiaquatic snake" , "S. Am. constrictor snake" .)