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Substitute tough material with a flimsy one (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

replace

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'substitute tough' is the definition.
'replace' can be an answer for 'substitute' (synonyms). I'm unsure of the 'tough' bit.

'material with a flimsy one' is the wordplay.
'material' becomes 'rep' (rep is a kind of material).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a flimsy one' becomes 'lace' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'rep'+'lace'='REPLACE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for replace that I've seen before include "succeed" , "Put back where you found it" , "Substitute for (someone)" , "Put back or substitute" , "Put something back where it belongs" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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