Crossword Genius

Numerous staff close to embassy (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

many

'numerous' is the definition.
('many' can be similar in meaning to 'numerous')

'staff close to embassy' is the wordplay.
'staff' becomes 'man' (manning is a kind of staffing).
'close to' says to take the final letters (the close/ending of).
The last letter of 'embassy' is 'y'.
'man'+'y'='MANY'

(Other definitions for many that I've seen before include "multitude" , "Lots" , "Multitudinous" , "Numerous" , "regarded as a large number" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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