Crossword Genius

Chummy has to pay about fifty smackers (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pally

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'chummy' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'to pay about fifty smackers' is the wordplay.
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'fifty' becomes 'l' (roman numeral).
'smackers' becomes 'l' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'l'+'l'='ll'
'pay' enclosing 'll' is 'PALLY'.

'has' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pally that I've seen before include "Very familiar" , "Thick" , "On friendly terms" , "Close, friendly" , "Chummy" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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