Crossword Genius

Be in step in fortress when confronting the enemy (4,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

keep time

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'confronting the enemy' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'be in step in fortress when' is the wordplay.
'be in step' becomes 'tim' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'fortress' becomes 'keep' (I've seen this before).
'when' becomes 'e' (I've seen this in other clues).
'keep'+'e'='keepe'
'tim' going within 'keepe' is 'KEEP TIME'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for keep time that I've seen before include "Observe rhythm accurately" , "as rhythm section in jazz band must do" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.