Crossword Genius

Praise and kiss a soldier on base (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

exalt

'praise' is the definition.
(I know this)

'kiss a soldier on base' is the wordplay.
'kiss' becomes 'x' (X can represent a kiss).
'soldier' becomes 'lt' (abbreviation for lieutenant).
'on' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'base' becomes 'e' (Euler's number - base of natural logarithms).
'x'+'a'+'lt'='xalt'
'xalt' after 'e' is 'EXALT'.

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for exalt that I've seen before include "Praise highly" , "Uplift in praise" , "put on a pedestal" , "(P) raise" , "Promote" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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