Carry on through cut on energy (9)

I believe the answer is:

persevere

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'carry on' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'through cut on energy' is the wordplay.
'through' becomes 'per' (I've seen this before).
'cut on' becomes 'sever' (severing is a kind of cutting. I am not sure about the 'on' bit.**).
'energy' becomes 'e' (physics symbol as in E=mce).
'per'+'sever'+'e'='PERSEVERE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for persevere that I've seen before include "Be persistent, refuse to stop" , "Fight on" , "Soldier on" , "Go on in spite of setbacks" , "Keep trying" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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