Crossword Genius

Grounds close to Marylebone ten clubs utilise (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

excuse

'grounds' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'close to marylebone ten clubs utilise' is the wordplay.
'close to' says to take the final letters (the close/ending of).
'ten' becomes 'x' ('X' can be a synonym of 'ten').
'clubs' becomes 'c' (abbreviation used in card games such as bridge).
'utilise' becomes 'use' ('use' can be a synonym of 'utilize').
The final letter of 'marylebone' is 'e'.
'e'+'x'+'c'+'use'='EXCUSE'

(Other definitions for excuse that I've seen before include "Mitigate; forgive" , "Make apologies for" , "Seek to justify (a fault)" , "Pardon or forgive" , "Pardon or justify" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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