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Do Trojan work for mystery man hidden by Hazel Back (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

exert

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'hidden by hazel back' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with ownership as well as being verbs in their base form.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?

'do trojan work for mystery man' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'man' could be 'ex' (ex is a kind of man) and 'ex' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for exert that I've seen before include "Cause (oneself) to make a strenuous effort" , "Expend" , "Wield - apply" , "Put to use, vigorously" , "Apply (force)" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times and the Irish Times (Crosaire).
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