Crossword Genius

Weaken female leaving to provide finance for fur (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

undermine

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'weaken female' is the definition.
'undermine' can be an answer for 'weaken' (synonyms). I'm not sure about the 'female' bit.

'to provide finance for fur' is the wordplay.
'to provide finance for' becomes 'und' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'fur' becomes 'ermine' (ermine is a kind of fur).
'und'+'ermine'='UNDERMINE'

'leaving' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for undermine that I've seen before include "Burrow below" , "Sabotage; subvert" , "Subvert or weaken gradually" , "Erode the base or foundation of" , "Weaken, sap" .)

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app