Crossword Genius

Kind of line, say, elevated poems, I see (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

geodesic

'kind of line' is the definition.
(I know that geodesic is a type of line)

'say elevated poems i see' is the wordplay.
'say' becomes 'eg' (both can mean for example).
'elevated' says the letters should be written in reverse (in a down clue, letters go up).
'poems' becomes 'odes' (ode is a kind of poem).
'see' becomes 'C' (the word for the letter, according to Chambers).
'eg' reversed gives 'ge'.
'ge'+'odes'+'i'+'c'='GEODESIC'

(Other definitions for geodesic that I've seen before include "Like a type of dome" , "shortest way from A to B" , "(Of dome) made up of triangles and polygons" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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