Crossword Genius

The entrance is left at the top of the alley (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

portal

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'the entrance' is the definition.
(portal is a kind of entrance)

'left at the top of the alley' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'port' (left side of a ship - opposite of starboard).
'at' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the top of the alley' becomes 'al' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'port'+'al'='PORTAL'

'is' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for portal that I've seen before include "Special website bringing together information from diverse sources in a uniform way" , "An imposing gate or doorway" , "An imposing door or gate" , "Gate, entrance" , "Grand and imposing entrance" .)

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