Crossword Genius

Restricts, the punishment convicts accept (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

confines

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'restricts' is the definition.
('confine' can be a synonym of 'restrict')

'punishment convicts accept' is the wordplay.
'punishment' becomes 'fine' (fine is a kind of punishment).
'convicts' becomes 'cons' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'accept' is an insertion indicator.
'fine' put within 'cons' is 'CONFINES'.

'the' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.