It takes a lot of beating (4)

I believe the answer is:

drum

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'beating' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'it takes a lot' is the wordplay.
'it' becomes 'dru' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'takes' says to put letters next to each other.
'a lot' becomes 'm'.
'dru'+'m'='DRUM'

'of' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for drum that I've seen before include "Tap" , "See 18" , "Mus. instrument; container" , "Empty" , "See 16" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard and The Globe and Mail.

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