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Exam did not start before the heartless retort (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

riposte

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'the heartless retort' is the definition.
'riposte' can be an answer for 'retort' ('riposte' can be a synonym of 'retort'). I'm unsure of the 'the heartless' bit.

'exam did not start before' is the wordplay.
'exam' becomes 'tripos' (tripos is a kind of exam).
'did not start' means to remove the first letter.
'before' becomes 'te' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'tripos' with its first letter taken away is 'ripos'.
'ripos'+'te'='RIPOSTE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for riposte that I've seen before include "Sally" , "Quick answer" , "Return thrust or repartee" , "Fencer's counterattack" , "Quick and witty reply" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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