Crossword Genius

Play for time, giving office worker zero increase (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

temporise

'play for time' is the definition.

'giving office worker zero increase' is the wordplay.
'giving' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'office worker' becomes 'temp' (I've seen this before).
'zero' becomes 'o'.
'increase' becomes 'rise' (rise is a kind of increase**).
'temp'+'o' is 'tempo'.
'tempo'+'rise'='TEMPORISE'

(Other definitions for temporise that I've seen before include "Emptier so as to avoid giving a definite answer" , "Put off" , "Hedge" , "Delay" , "fail to decide" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.