The tough way out (5)
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" .)