The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word DISPERSE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
D
I
S
P
E
R
S
E
More clues leading to the result DISPERSE
- Policemen essentially go their separate ways
- 500 is essentially split up
- The last thing a crowd will do
- Detectives essentially go off in different directions
- Fail to welcome foreign press and go off in different directions
- Spread out terribly impressed, having lost millions
- Scatter food, not hot as such
- Husband is persevering holding in spread
- Badly pressed, I vanish into thin air maybe
- Kinky desires involving newspaper’s centre spread
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "go off in different directions" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case go off in different directions = disperse.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 DISPERSE mean?
DISPERSE verb- To scatter in different directions
- To break up and disappear; to dissipate
- To disseminate
- To separate rays of light etc. according to wavelength; to refract
- To distribute throughout
- Scattered or spread out.