Tough cord some men tugged (9)
I believe the answer is:
stringent
'tough' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'cord some men tugged' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'cord' could be 'string' (string is a kind of cord) and 'string' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stringent that I've seen before include "Of rule, say strict and precise" , "Tough" , "Tight" , "binding" , "firm" .)