His girlfriend persuaded him to take a short cut (6)
I believe the answer is:
samson
'take a short cut' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'his girlfriend persuaded him' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'him' could be 'son' and 'son' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'sam' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for samson that I've seen before include "Old Testament strongman (until he lost his hair)" , "one with strength in locks" , "Strongman of Israel" , "Delilah's muscular boy friend" , "He destroyed temple" .)