Crossword Genius

Poor excuse for an empty police station! (3-3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cop-out

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

This clue might be a double definition.

'poor excuse' is the first definition.
(thesaurus)

'an empty police station' is the second definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs in their base form, I don't understand how one could define the other.

'for' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for cop-out that I've seen is " Failure to face some difficulty squarely".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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