Crossword Genius

Budget speech, not the first (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ration

'budget' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'speech not the first' is the wordplay.
'speech' becomes 'oration' (oration is a kind of speech).
'not the first' means to remove the first letter.
'oration' with its first letter removed is 'RATION'.

(Other definitions for ration that I've seen before include "Fixed amount allotted" , "Food apportionment" , "Apportion" , "Portion, share" , "A measured portion in times of scarcity" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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