Crossword Genius

Speak softly and be heart-broken (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

breathe

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'speak softly' is the definition.
'breathe' can be an answer for 'speak' (thesaurus). I am not sure about the 'softly' bit.

'be heart-broken' is the wordplay.
'broken' indicates anagramming the letters.
'be'+'heart'='beheart'
'beheart' anagrammed gives 'BREATHE'.

'and' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for breathe that I've seen before include "Absorb air" , "Respire - inspire - expire" , "Inhale/exhale" , "eg Inhale" , "Whisper" .)

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