Crossword Genius

It's not hard to hold out (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tender

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'to hold out' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'it's not hard' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ender' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tender that I've seen before include "Make offer in gentle way" , "Delicate or kindhearted" , "Offer; sore" , "Offer, gentle, boat" , "Make formal offer" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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