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Steer clear as every third of the steers ruminate (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

eschew

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'steer clear as every' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'third of the steers ruminate' is the wordplay.
'third of the' becomes 'e' (3rd letter of 'the').
'steers' becomes 's' (this might be a standard abbreviation which I don't know about).
'ruminate' becomes 'chew' (I've seen this before).
'e'+'s'+'chew'='ESCHEW'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for eschew that I've seen before include "Steer clear of" , "Ignore" , "Deliberately avoid" , "Avoid or abstain from, food or people" , "'Avoid, shun (6)'" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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