Thought middleman oddly ignored (4)

I believe the answer is:

idea

'thought' is the definition.
(idea is a kind of thought)

'middleman oddly ignored' is the wordplay.
'oddly ignored' indicates alternate letters (letters in odd-numbered positions removed).
The alternating letters of 'middleman' are 'IDEA'.

(Other definitions for idea that I've seen before include "Plato's Form is" , "Content of cognition" , "Product of the mind" , "Intention" , "Clue" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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