Crossword Genius

Selecting his cog - no alternative (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

choosing

'selecting' is the definition.
('choose' can be a synonym of 'select')

'his cog no alternative' is the wordplay.
'alternative' is an anagram indicator (an alternative ordering of the letters).
'his'+'cog'+'no'='hiscogno'
'hiscogno' with letters rearranged gives 'CHOOSING'.

(Another definition for choosing that I've seen is " Selecting, opting".)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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