Crossword Genius

Phone not working? It's cut-off point! (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

deadline

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

'cut-off point' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'phone not working?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'not working?' could be 'dead' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'dead' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'line' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'it's' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for deadline that I've seen before include "Latest time for doing something" , "a writer may have to meet" , "Time by which journalist must file copy" , "Time for finishing" , "Target time" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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