Crossword Genius

Exclude bishop and miss dance (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

blackball

'exclude' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'bishop and miss dance' is the wordplay.
'bishop' becomes 'B' (chess abbreviation).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'miss' becomes 'lack' (lack can mean to be missing).
'dance' becomes 'ball' (ball is a kind of dance).
'b'+'lack'+'ball'='BLACKBALL'

(Other definitions for blackball that I've seen before include "bar?" , "Vote against would-be member" , "Ostracise" , "Reject" , "Negative vote to veto" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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