Crossword Genius

Pallor of one confined by previous head (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pastiness

'pallor' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'one confined by previous head' is the wordplay.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'confined by' is an insertion indicator.
'previous' becomes 'past' (similar in meaning).
'head' becomes 'ness' (ness is a headland).
'past'+'ness'='pastness'
'i' placed into 'pastness' is 'PASTINESS'.

'of' is the link.

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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