Crossword Genius

Tethers donkey; always a drag to do this

Ross

I believe the answer is:

chain-smoke

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'always a drag to do this' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun but the answer is not.

'tethers donkey' is the wordplay.
'tethers' becomes 'chains' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'donkey' becomes 'moke' (moke is a kind of donkey).
'chains'+'moke'='CHAIN-SMOKE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for chain-smoke that I've seen before include "Light one fag after another" , "Puff non-stop" , "Get through cigarettes one after another" , "Get through fags one after the other" , "Keep dragging" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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