Twin boys taking a lot of beating (3-3)
I believe the answer is:
tom-tom
'beating' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'twin boys' is the wordplay.
'twin boys' can mean two replacements for 'boy'.
'boy' becomes 'tom'.
'boy' becomes 'tom' ().
'tom'+'tom'='TOM-TOM'
'taking a lot of' acts as a link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tom-tom that I've seen before include "Cylindrical drum" , "Repetitive cat on the drum" , "Medium-sized drum" , "Type of native American drum" , "African drum on the double?" .)