Hardy character's suitor carrying light by day (10)

I believe the answer is:

woodlander

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'hardy character's' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'suitor carrying light by day' is the wordplay.
'suitor' becomes 'wooer' (synonyms).
'carrying' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'light by' becomes 'dlan' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'day' becomes 'd' (abbreviation for day).
'dlan'+'d'='dland'
'wooer' placed around 'dland' is 'WOODLANDER'.

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I've seen this clue in The Times.

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