Crossword Genius

Learn to service empty vehicle (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hearse

'vehicle' is the definition.
(hearse is a kind of vehicle)

'learn to service empty' is the wordplay.
'learn' becomes 'hear' ('hear' can be a synonym of 'learn').
'to' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'empty' means to remove the middle letters.
'service' with its middle removed is 'se'.
'hear'+'se'='HEARSE'

(Other definitions for hearse that I've seen before include "Vehicle for carrying a coffin" , "Funeral carriage" , "Carriage for a corpse" , "Vehicle for one's last journey" , "Carriage for a coffin" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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