Laggard author’s pidgin confession in quarantine? (7)
I believe the answer is:
isolate
'in quarantine?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for isolate that I've seen before include "Eat soil (anag)" , "Place separately" , "Strand" , "Place apart from others or alone" , "Place apart, away from others" .)