Relation in Ulysses somewhat lacking? (4)
I believe the answer is:
gran
'relation' is the definition.
(short for grandmother)
'ulysses somewhat lacking?' is the wordplay.
'ulysses' becomes 'grant' (I've seen this before).
'somewhat lacking?' means to remove the last letter (most but not all of the word).
'grant' with its final letter taken away is 'GRAN'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for gran that I've seen before include "Older relative" , "She's of an older generation, in short" , "Mum's mum" , "... Canaria, island off African coast" , "Rang (anag.)" .)