Crossword Genius

Jolly Yankee making pact (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

treaty

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

'pact' is the definition.
(I know that pact can be written as treaty)

'jolly yankee' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'yankee' could be 'y' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.) and 'y' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'treat' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'making' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for treaty that I've seen before include "Formal agreement between two or more countries" , "Written agreement between two states" , "alliance" , "settlement" , "International agreement" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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