The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word ESCAPISM
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
E
S
C
A
P
I
S
M
More clues leading to the result ESCAPISM
- Charlie in impasse organised retreat into fantasy
- Daydreaming in dunce’s cap is mindless
- Representation of space is start of much fantasy
- Timeless camp sites abroad offering this?
- Dunce’s cap is, maybe, the case for a dreamer
- Warped space is medium for fantasy
- Dunce’s cap is maybe part of break with reality
- Travel in space is male fantasy
- In dunce’s cap, is maybe avoiding reality
- Avoiding reality of mass epic developing
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "break with reality" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case break with reality = escapism.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 ESCAPISM mean?
ESCAPISM noun- An inclination to escape from routine or reality into fantasy.
- A genre of book, film etc. that one uses to indulge this tendency.
- The performance of an escape artist.