Crossword Genius

Very afraid oddly to stop one exposing greed (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

avarice

'greed' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'very afraid oddly to stop one' is the wordplay.
'very' becomes 'v' (abbreviation).
'oddly' indicates alternate letters (letters in the odd-numbered positions are used).
'to stop' indicates putting letters inside (stop can mean to plug a hole in something).
'one' becomes 'ace' (ace has a value of one in some card games).
The alternating letters of 'afraid' are 'ari'.
'v'+'ari'='vari'
'vari' placed within 'ace' is 'AVARICE'.

'exposing' is the link.

(Other definitions for avarice that I've seen before include "Eager desire" , "Greed, covetousness" , "Rapacity" , "Wanting to be rich" , "Sway, control" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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