Separated the penniless with a method (5,4)

I believe the answer is:

broke away

'separated' is the definition.
(breaking away is a kind of separating)

'penniless with a method' is the wordplay.
'penniless' becomes 'broke' (I've seen this before).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'method' becomes 'way' (way of doing something).
'broke'+'a'+'way'='BROKE AWAY'

'the' acts as a link.

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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