Gives ground to defenders substituted (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
backs off
'gives ground to defenders substituted' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'gives ground to defenders' is the wordplay.
'gives ground' becomes 'off' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to' means one lot of letters go next to another (I've seen this in other clues).
'defenders' becomes 'backs' (I've seen this before).
'off' after 'backs' is 'BACKS OFF'.
Can you help me to learn more?
I've seen this clue in the Irish Times.
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