Firm resolve to put crocodiles in small river (10)
I believe the answer is:
steeliness
'firm resolve' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'put crocodiles in small river' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'put' could be 'tee' (teeing is a kind of putting) and 'tee' is located in the answer.
'in' is found in the answer.
'small' could be 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size) and 's' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'less' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for steeliness that I've seen before include "Firm determination" , "cold determination" , "Hard nature" , "Trustworthy condition" .)