The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word DISTRAIT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
D
I
S
T
R
A
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T
More clues leading to the result DISTRAIT
- After circulating papers, sound preoccupied
- Absent-minded don, not working, is characteristic
- Not all there is to see in fourth rate feature
- Absent-minded copper’s distinguishing feature
- Princess’s characteristic to be absent- minded
- Absent-minded girl’s distinguishing feature
- Detective’s characteristic — thinking of other things
- Absent-minded detective’s quirk
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "thinking of other things" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case thinking of other things = distrait.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does DISTRAIT mean?
DISTRAIT adjective- Absent-minded, troubled, distracted