Crossword Genius

Tie up and hit hard (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tonk

'hit hard' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'tie up' is the wordplay.
'tie' becomes 'knot' (knotting is a kind of tiing).
'up' is a reversal indicator (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'knot' backwards is 'TONK'.

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for tonk that I've seen before include "Rod" , "from Australia is hit" , "Hit hard" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Telegraph.
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