Novice, tense, not half pressed (4)

I believe the answer is:

tiro

'novice' is the definition.
('tiro' can be a synonym of 'novice')

'tense not half pressed' is the wordplay.
'tense' becomes 't' (abbreviation used in many dictionaries).
'not half' means to take half the letters.
'pressed' becomes 'ironed' (ironing is a kind of pressing).
'ironed' cut in half is 'iro'.
't'+'iro'='TIRO'

(Another definition for tiro that I've seen is " Novice".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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