Peer review is divided about cut off but keep trying (9)
I believe the answer is:
persevere
'keep trying' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'peer review is divided about cut off' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'about' could be 're' (regarding) and 're' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'but' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for persevere that I've seen before include "Keep going" , "Persist steadily" , "Be unwilling to stop" , "Steadfastly continue" , "Remain" .)