Crossword Genius

Following a couple of directions, say, see you rely firmly (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

securely

'firmly' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'following a couple of directions say see you rely' is the wordplay.
'a couple of directions' means two replacements for 'direction'.
'following' says to put letters next to each other.
'direction' becomes 's' (S is an example).
'direction' becomes 'e' (E is an example).
'say' shows a homophone (sound like).
'you' becomes 'u' (commonly used in online communication).
'see' is a homophone of 'c'.
's' put next to 'e' is 'se'.
'se'+'c'+'u'+'rely'='SECURELY'

(Other definitions for securely that I've seen before include "out of danger" , "Firmly (fixed)" , "In a stable way" , "In a safe manner" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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