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A lot to pay for chops at the West End (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

taxes

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

'a lot to pay' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'chops at the west end' is the wordplay.
'chops' becomes 'axes' (axing is a kind of chopping).
'at' means one lot of letters go next to another (I've seen this in other clues).
'end' indicates one should take the final letters.
The final letter of 'west' is 't'.
'axes' put after 't' is 'TAXES'.

'for' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for taxes that I've seen before include "Puts great strain on, as Revenue Commissioners do" , "Levies imposed by government" , "Levies, strains" , "Levies duty" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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