Crossword Genius

Ventures to use many units of area (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dares

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

'ventures' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'many units of area' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'many' could be 'd' and 'd' is present in the answer.
'units' could be 'ares' (are is a kind of unit) and 'ares' is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'to use' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dares that I've seen before include "Makes bold, presumes to" , "Has the courage to do brave or dangerous thing" , "Challenges to do something dangerous" , "Risks" , "Makes bold, challenges" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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