Crossword Genius

Fences in small old city grounds no good (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

surrounds

'fences in' is the definition.
('surround' can be a synonym of 'fence in')

'small old city grounds no good' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'old city' becomes 'ur' (ancient city state).
'no' suggests deleting specific letters.
'good' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'grounds' with 'g' removed is 'rounds'.
's'+'ur'+'rounds'='SURROUNDS'

(Another definition for surrounds that I've seen is " Circles, encompasses".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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