Crossword Genius

Soldier on exercises hard to endure (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

persevere

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'soldier on' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'exercises hard to endure' is the wordplay.
'exercises' becomes 'per' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'hard to endure' becomes 'severe' (I've seen this before).
'per'+'severe'='PERSEVERE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for persevere that I've seen before include "Remain" , "Hang on in there" , "Keep going" , "Carry on regardless" , "give it another try" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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