Crossword Genius

The tough way out (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stout

'the tough' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'way out' is the wordplay.
'way' becomes 'st'.
'st'+'out'='STOUT'

(Other definitions for stout that I've seen before include "pint" , "Dark beer for the rather fat" , "Rather fat, stocky" , "Beer with malt" , "Robust; drink" .)

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