Useful item worth little in board game? (5)
I believe the answer is:
utile
'useful' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'item worth little in board game?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'little' could be 'l' (abbreviation) and 'l' is found in the answer.
'item' could be 'tie' (I have seen 'Item of neckwear ' mean 'tie' so perhaps 'item' could also mean 'tie') and 'tie' is located in the remaining letters.
A single letter 'u' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for utile that I've seen before include "of use" , "profitable" , "Useful" .)