Steal fifty two papers (4)
I believe the answer is:
lift
'steal' is the definition.
(lifting is a kind of stealing)
'fifty two papers' is the wordplay.
'two papers' means two substitutions for 'paper'.
'fifty' becomes 'l' ('L' can be a synonym of 'fifty').
'paper' becomes 'i' (UK newspaper).
'paper' becomes 'ft'.
'l'+'i'+'ft'='LIFT'
(Other definitions for lift that I've seen before include "Take" , "Raise; elevator" , "Raise, elevate" , "encouragement" , "Means of access to different floors" .)