Crossword Genius

About-turn in relation to threat, not hard (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

retreat

'about-turn' is the definition.

'relation to threat not hard' is the wordplay.
'relation' becomes 're' (re is a kind of relation**).
'to' says to put letters next to each other.
'not' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'hard' becomes 'h'.
'threat' with 'h' taken out is 'treat'.
're'+'treat'='RETREAT'

'in' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for retreat that I've seen before include "snug" , "care home" , "retirement" , "withdrawal" , "Tree rat (anag)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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