Pressure unduly apparent — a mark of democracy? (7)
I believe the answer is:
overtax
'pressure unduly apparent a mark of democracy?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'apparent a mark of democracy?' is the wordplay.
'apparent' becomes 'overt' (I've seen this before).
'a mark of democracy?' becomes 'ax' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'overt'+'ax'='OVERTAX'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for overtax that I've seen before include "Press too hard" , "Put too much pressure on, like Revenue Commissioners" , "Put too great a strain on, as Revenue Commissioners do" , "Impose too much strain on" , "Place too great a burden on, as Revenue officials do" .)