Crossword Genius

Allowance of food for deserter with ten points (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rations

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'allowance of food for' is the definition.
'rations' can be an answer for 'allowance' (thesaurus). I'm unsure of the 'of food for' bit.

'deserter with ten points' is the wordplay.
'deserter' becomes 'rat' (both can mean a traitor).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'ten' becomes 'IO' (IO resembles 10).
'points' becomes 'Ns' (two compass points).
'rat'+'io'+'ns'='RATIONS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rations that I've seen before include "fixed allowance" , "Foodstuffs" , "Portions of food in time of scarcity" , "Commons" , "Limits (supplies)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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