Crossword Genius

Exceptionally offensive soldiery? (5,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

shock troops

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'exceptionally' is the definition.
The answer and definition are not the same part of speech.

'offensive soldiery?' is the wordplay.
'offensive' becomes 'shock' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'soldiery?' becomes 'troops' ('troops' can be a synonym of 'soldiery').
'shock'+'troops'='SHOCK-TROOPS'

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I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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