Crossword Genius

Excuses being cheated, taken in by tricks (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

condones

'excuses' is the definition.
('condone' can be a synonym of 'excuse')

'cheated taken in by tricks' is the wordplay.
'cheated' becomes 'done'.
'taken in by' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'tricks' becomes 'cons' (I've seen this before).
'done' put inside 'cons' is 'CONDONES'.

'being' acts as a link.

(Another definition for condones that I've seen is " Excuses, overlooks".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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