Crossword Genius

Brilliant finish to University Challenge (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

defy

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

'challenge' is the definition.
(I know that defy is a type of challenge)

'brilliant finish to university' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'brilliant' could be 'def' (def can informally mean excellent) and 'def' is found within the answer.
A single letter 'y' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for defy that I've seen before include "Flout" , "Withstand" , "Disobey boldly and openly" , "Openly resist or refuse to obey" , "Resist (someone) openly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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