Crossword Genius

Moderate force used in dispersing tadpoles (4-5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

soft-pedal

'moderate' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'force used in dispersing tadpoles' is the wordplay.
'force' becomes 'f' (abbreviation in physics e.g. f=ma).
'used in' indicates putting letters inside.
'dispersing' indicates an anagram.
'tadpoles' is an anagram of 'sotpedal'.
'f' inserted inside 'sotpedal' is 'SOFT-PEDAL'.

(Another definition for soft-pedal that I've seen is " Tone down".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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