It makes advances so costly (5)

I believe the answer is:

usury

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'it makes advances so costly' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

This is all the clue.

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(Other definitions for usury that I've seen before include "Money-lending at very high rates" , "The lending of money at high rates" , "Demanding excessive interest" , "Loan sharking" , "Grasping moneylending" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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