Soldiers ready to drop out of work (7)

I believe the answer is:

retired

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'out of work' is the definition.
'retired' can be an answer for 'out' (thesaurus). I am unsure of the 'of work' bit.

'soldiers ready to drop' is the wordplay.
'soldiers' becomes 'RE' (Royal Engineers).
'ready to drop' becomes 'tired' (I've seen this before).
're'+'tired'='RETIRED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for retired that I've seen before include "Left" , "Finished work" , "Withdrew from active participation" , "Pensioned off" , "retreated" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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