Crossword Genius

Facility needing spades to finish off (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

skill

'facility' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'spades to finish off' is the wordplay.
'spades' becomes 's' (abbreviation in card games).
'to finish off' becomes 'kill'.
's'+'kill'='SKILL'

'needing' is the link.

(Other definitions for skill that I've seen before include "Aptitude" , "Special ability" , "Talent" , "Expertise, dexterity" , "facility" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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