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Exceptionally sweet pa, full of energy! (4-4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

drop-dead

'exceptionally' is the definition.
(as in drop-dead gorgeous)

'sweet pa full of energy' is the wordplay.
'sweet' becomes 'drop' (eg a gumdrop).
'pa' becomes 'dad' (father).
'full of' is an insertion indicator.
'energy' becomes 'e' (physics symbol as in E=mc2).
'dad' placed around 'e' is 'dead'.
'drop'+'dead'='DROP-DEAD'

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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