Crossword Genius

Sailors at ball drink up (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

absorb

'drink up' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'sailors at ball' is the wordplay.
'sailors' becomes 'abs' (AB is short for able seaman).
'at' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'ball' becomes 'orb' (both can mean a sphere).
'abs'+'orb'='ABSORB'

(Other definitions for absorb that I've seen before include "Suck up, as a sponge" , "Assimilate or soak up" , "Grip" , "Soak up, as a sponge" , "Take or drink in" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sun.
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