Crossword Genius

Mean to go without Penny? (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spell

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'mean' is the definition.
(eg in 'this spells disaster')

'go without penny?' is the wordplay.
'go' becomes 'sell' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'without' means one lot of letters goes inside another ('without' can be similar in meaning to 'outside').
'penny?' becomes 'p' (short for pence).
'sell' going around 'p' is 'SPELL'.

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for spell that I've seen before include "Magical charm; short time" , "term" , "Period; piece of magic" , "Magic incantation" , "Formula believed to have magical force" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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