Crossword Genius

Amount of money found outside an empty convent, a sacred place? (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sanctum

'a sacred place?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'amount of money found outside an empty convent' is the wordplay.
'amount of money' becomes 'sum' (synonyms).
'found outside' is an insertion indicator.
'empty' suggests removing the centre.
'convent' with its middle taken out is 'ct'.
'an'+'ct'='anct'
'sum' enclosing 'anct' is 'SANCTUM'.

(Other definitions for sanctum that I've seen before include "sacred space" , "Private/sacred place" , "Private study" , "Sacred area" , "A person's private room, often inner" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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