Crossword Genius

Lift head up, getting first prize (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

jackpot

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'first prize' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'lift head up' is the wordplay.
'lift' becomes 'jack' (jacking is a kind of lifting).
'head up' becomes 'pot' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'jack'+'pot'='JACKPOT'

'getting' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for jackpot that I've seen before include "Big win from one-arm bandit" , "best prize!" , "Kitty -- top prize" , "pool" , "Accumulated prize" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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