Seaman, say, hemmed in by land is giving up (10)
I believe the answer is:
abnegation
'is giving up' is the definition.
(abnegation is giving up or renouncing something)
'seaman say hemmed in by land' is the wordplay.
'seaman' becomes 'ab' (short for able seaman).
'say' becomes 'eg' (both can mean 'for example').
'hemmed in by' indicates putting letters inside.
'land' becomes 'nation' (synonyms).
'eg' going within 'nation' is 'negation'.
'ab'+'negation'='ABNEGATION'
I've seen this clue in The Times.
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