Crossword Genius

Do they punctuate the bus route? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stops

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'bus route?' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how one could define the other.

'do they punctuate the' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'sops' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for stops that I've seen before include "Discontinues" , "Prevents" , "Posts (anag.)" , "Checks" , "Ends" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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