Crossword Genius

Leaving wasteland at home, having nothing (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

desertion

'leaving' is the definition.
(I know that desertion is a type of withdrawal)

'wasteland at home having nothing' is the wordplay.
'wasteland' becomes 'desert' (I've seen this before).
'at home' becomes 'in' ('I'm in' can mean 'I'm at home').
'having' is an insertion indicator.
'nothing' becomes 'O' (looks like zero - 0).
'in' going around 'o' is 'ion'.
'desert'+'ion'='DESERTION'

(Other definitions for desertion that I've seen before include "Abandonment" , "going AWOL" , "flight" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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