Crossword Genius

The two signs of hesitation seen in troubles (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bothers

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'troubles' is the definition.
(I know this)

'the two signs of hesitation seen in' is the wordplay.
'the two' becomes 'both' (synonyms).
'signs of' becomes 's' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'hesitation' becomes 'er' (sound made while hesitating - um, er).
'seen in' indicates putting letters inside.
'both'+'s'='boths'
'boths' placed around 'er' is 'BOTHERS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for bothers that I've seen before include "Troubles" , "Upsets" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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