Crossword Genius

Policy of alliance oddly abandoned (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

line

'policy' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'alliance oddly abandoned' is the wordplay.
'oddly abandoned' means one should take alternating letters (letters in odd-numbered positions removed).
The alternate letters of 'alliance' are 'LINE'.

'of' is the link.

(Other definitions for line that I've seen before include "A length without breadth or thickness" , "An American queue" , "Some poetic feet; boundary, when drawn" , "Railway track; policy" , "classified information" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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