Crossword Genius

Strained (5)

Ross

I think it could be either:

tense

taxed

'strained' is the definition.
(taxing is a kind of straining)

This is the entire clue.

(Other definitions for taxed that I've seen before include "Was demanding" , "Heavily burdened" , "Stretched" , "Made heavy demands on" , "Levied a duty on" .)

I've seen this clue in the Universal, the Penny Press and the Sydney Morning Herald.
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