Crossword Genius

Engineers fast to slacken (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

relent

'slacken' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'engineers fast' is the wordplay.
'engineers' becomes 're' (Royal Engineers).
'fast' becomes 'lent' (I've seen this before).
're'+'lent'='RELENT'

'to' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for relent that I've seen before include "Soften - yield" , "Ease off" , "Back down" , "Decide to be kind after all?" , "Give in to influence or pressure" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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