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Second mate in ship of the line (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

linear

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'second mate in ship of the line' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'second mate in ship' is the wordplay.
'second mate' becomes 'a' (2nd letter of 'mate').
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'ship' becomes 'liner' (liner is a kind of ship).
'a' inserted within 'liner' is 'LINEAR'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for linear that I've seen before include "Involving one dimension only" , "Long and narrow, of one dimension" , "Consisting of lines" , "(Of narrative) sequential" , "Arranged in straight fashion" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian and The Globe and Mail.
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