Crossword Genius

Persuades women, leaving balloons (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sells

'persuades' is the definition.
(selling is a kind of persuading)

'women leaving balloons' is the wordplay.
'women' becomes 'w' (standard abbreviation).
'leaving' is a deletion indicator.
'balloons' becomes 'swells' (balloon can mean to swell).
'swells' with 'w' taken out is 'SELLS'.

(Other definitions for sells that I've seen before include "Exchanges for payment" , "Markets" , "Retails" , "Vends" , "Flogs" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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