Crossword Genius

Witch doctor crosses Peru naked (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sorceress

'witch' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'doctor crosses peru naked' is the wordplay.
'doctor' indicates an anagram.
'naked' indicates the central letters.
The middle letters of 'peru' are 'er'.
'crosses'+'er'='crosseser'
'crosseser' with letters rearranged gives 'SORCERESS'.

(Other definitions for sorceress that I've seen before include "Spell-casting female" , "Say, Medea" , "She spells" , "Witch" , "Circe, perhaps" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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