Crossword Genius

Thought strange -- at home with date off (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ruminated

'thought' is the definition.
(ruminating is a kind of thinking)

'strange at home with date off' is the wordplay.
'strange' becomes 'rum' (I've seen this before**).
'at home' becomes 'in' ('in' can be similar in meaning to 'at home').
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'off' is an anagram indicator.
'date' is an anagram of 'ated'.
'rum'+'in'+'ated'='RUMINATED'

(Another definition for ruminated that I've seen is " Pondered".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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