Crossword Genius

Lavish old lover to get locked up, we hear (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

expend

'lavish' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'old lover to get locked up we hear' is the wordplay.
'old lover' becomes 'ex' (an ex-lover).
'to get' says to put letters next to each other.
'locked up' becomes 'penned' (penned in or imprisoned).
'we hear' shows a homophone (sound like).
'penned' is a homophone of 'pend'.
'ex'+'pend'='EXPEND'

(Other definitions for expend that I've seen before include "Pay out money" , "Lay out, disburse" , "Consume" , "Spend or use up" , "Use (energy)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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