Past master avoiding pressure to work too hard (9)
I believe the answer is:
overexert
'to work too hard' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'past master' is the wordplay.
'past' becomes 'over' (both can mean finished).
'master' becomes 'exert' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'over'+'exert'='OVEREXERT'
'avoiding pressure' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for overexert that I've seen before include "strain" , "use too much" , "work too hard" , "Make too much effort" , "exercise unduly?" .)