Crossword Genius

Cut duty for practise without hesitation (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

excise

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

'cut' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'duty for practise without hesitation' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'without' could be 'ex' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'ex' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for excise that I've seen before include "Cut out; commodity tax" , "Tax on certain goods and commodities" , "that wretches hatefully collect" , "Internal tax" , "Type of tax" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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