Points soldier south with Eliot (5)

I believe the answer is:

gists

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'points' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to thinking as well as being plural nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

'soldier south with eliot' is the wordplay.
'soldier' becomes 'gi' (GI can mean a US soldier).
'south' becomes 's' (abbreviation).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'eliot' becomes 'ts' (poet TS Eliot).
'gi'+'s'+'ts'='GISTS'

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I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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