Crossword Genius

Staked one million pounds initially on bad deal (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

impaled

'staked' is the definition.
('impale' can be a synonym of 'stake')

'one million pounds initially on bad deal' is the wordplay.
'one million' becomes 'im' (I've seen this in other clues**).
'initially' says to take the initial letters.
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'bad' indicates an anagram.
The first letter of 'pounds' is 'p'.
'deal' is an anagram of 'aled'.
'im'+'p'+'aled'='IMPALED'

(Other definitions for impaled that I've seen before include "killed for a vampire" , "Pierced through in mid-leap" , "Transfixed" , "Pierced as with a stick or stake" , "Stuck" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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