Brave comic getting applause across the way (9)
I believe the answer is:
withstand
'brave' is the definition.
(I know that brave is a more specific form of the action defy)
'comic getting applause across the way' is the wordplay.
'comic getting applause' becomes 'with' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'across' says to put letters next to each other (across can mean on).
'the way' becomes 'stand' (stand is a kind of way).
'with'+'stand'='WITHSTAND'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for withstand that I've seen before include "weather" , "Resist or brave something" , "Resist, hold out" , "Bear" , "Remain undamaged by" .)