Crossword Genius

Be in a rut, possibly; nevertheless deny (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rebut

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'nevertheless deny' is the definition.
'rebut' can be an answer for 'deny' (to rebut is to deny or refute). I'm not certain of the 'nevertheless' bit.

'be in a rut' is the wordplay.
'be' becomes 'eb' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'eb' inserted inside 'rut' is 'REBUT'.

'possibly' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rebut that I've seen before include "Drive back" , "Contradict or disprove" , "Prove to be false or incorrect" , "Give the lie to" , "Refute - disprove" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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