Not strong enough to get off the hook? (6)
I believe the answer is:
gentle
'hook?' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with contact as well as being verbs in their base form.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'not strong enough to get off the' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'not' could be 'nt' ('n't' can be a synonym of 'not') and 'nt' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gentle that I've seen before include "Tender - maggot" , "Clement" , "Jane Eyre's kind person with a book? -- eternal greed (anag)" , "Mild, moderate" , "Soft and mild, quiet and soothing" .)