Courts approve standard (9)

I believe the answer is:

yardstick

'standard' is the definition.
(I know that yardstick is a type of standard)

'courts approve' is the wordplay.
'courts' becomes 'yards' (I've seen this in another clue).
'approve' becomes 'tick' (giving a tick indicates approval).
'yards'+'tick'='YARDSTICK'

(Other definitions for yardstick that I've seen before include "General measure for comparison" , "Guideline" , "Measuring rod" , "measure of performance" , "Standard of measurement" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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