Scrap university competition to secure new expedition vessel (9)
I believe the answer is:
endurance
'expedition vessel' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't see how they can define each other.
'scrap university competition to secure new' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'scrap' could be 'end' (synonyms) and 'end' is present in the answer.
'university' could be 'u' (abbreviation as in UMass) and 'u' is found within the answer.
'new' could be 'n' (common abbreviation eg NT for New Testament) and 'n' is located in the answer.
'competition' could be 'race' (race is a kind of competition) and 'race' is located in the remaining letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for endurance that I've seen before include "Bearing" , "ability to survive" , "Showing ablity to last" , "Crushed ship" , "Ability to withstand hardship for long periods" .)