Crossword Genius

Submission issuer occasionally supports to soften things up (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tenderise

'soften things up' is the definition.
(to tenderise is to soften)

'submission issuer occasionally supports' is the wordplay.
'submission' becomes 'tender' (tender can mean a submission or bid).
'occasionally' indicates alternate letters.
'supports' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (bottom letters provide a support for the top ones).
The alternating letters of 'issuer' are 'ise'.
'tender'+'ise'='TENDERISE'

'to' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for tenderise that I've seen before include "pound" , "soften flesh" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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