Crossword Genius

Tiny raised inlay that may have to be made up (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

leeway

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

'tiny raised inlay' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how they can define each other.

'may have to be made up' is the wordplay.
'may have' becomes 'lee' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'to be' becomes 'yaw' (yawing is a kind of being).
'made up' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (in a down clue, letters go up).
'yaw' back-to-front is 'way'.
'lee'+'way'='LEEWAY'

'that' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for leeway that I've seen before include "Room to manoeuvre, latitude" , "Allowance" , "Room to manoeuvre, as for a ship" , "Margin allowing room for manoeuvre" , "Elbowroom" .)

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