Crossword Genius

Swindle local out of gratuity (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

donative

'gratuity' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'swindle local' is the wordplay.
'swindle' becomes 'do'.
'local' becomes 'native' ('native' can be similar in meaning to 'local').
'do'+'native'='DONATIVE'

'out of' acts as a link.

(Another definition for donative that I've seen is " Formal gift".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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.