Crossword Genius

Pressure to stop mail while away (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spend

'while away' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'pressure to stop mail' is the wordplay.
'pressure' becomes 'p' (abbreviation).
'to stop' is an insertion indicator.
'mail' becomes 'send' ('send' can be a synonym of 'mail').
'p' placed inside 'send' is 'SPEND'.

(Other definitions for spend that I've seen before include "Pass (time) in a specified way" , "Pay out (on goods)" , "Outlay" , "Blue" , "While away" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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