Crossword Genius

A vale heading north, man on deviating path (2,1,7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

at a tangent

'on deviating path' is the definition.

'a vale heading north man' is the wordplay.
'vale' becomes 'tata' (ta-ta can mean bye - 'vale' is farewell in Latin).
'heading north' becomes 'n' (abbreviation).
'man' becomes 'gent' (gent is a kind of man).
'a'+'tata'+'n'+'gent'='AT A TANGENT'

(Another definition for at a tangent that I've seen is " In a divergent train of thought or action".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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