Fabrication of lino is expensive to begin with (3)
I believe the answer is:
lie
'fabrication' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'lino is expensive to begin with' is the wordplay.
'to begin with' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letters of 'lino is expensive' is 'LIE'.
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for lie that I've seen before include "Tell untruths" , "buried" , "Tell porkies" , "Couch" , "Fib in alienation" .)