Crossword Genius

Zulus, surrounding soldier returning with silver, move one way then another (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

zigzag

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'move one way then another' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'zulus surrounding soldier returning with silver' is the wordplay.
'zulus' becomes 'ZZ' (two Z's - Zulu is Z in the phonetic alphabet).
'surrounding' indicates putting letters inside.
'soldier' becomes 'GI' (GI can mean a US soldier).
'returning' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'with silver' becomes 'ag' (Ag is the chemical symbol for silver. I am not sure about the 'with' bit.).
'zz' enclosing 'gi' is 'zgiz'.
'zgiz' in reverse letter order is 'zigz'.
'zigz'+'ag'='ZIGZAG'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for zigzag that I've seen before include "Describes sharp turns in alternating directions" , "Move first one way, then the other" , "'First one way, then the other (6)'" , "Proceed with sharp, alternating turns" , "Sharp turning" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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