Cryptic crossword clue
Male in desperation shakily took off 12

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word IMPERSONATED

I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
I
M
P
E
R
S
O
N
A
T
E
D

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "took off" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case took off = impersonated.
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 IMPERSONATED mean?

IMPERSONATED verb
  1. To pretend to be (a different person); to assume the identity of.
  2. To operate with the permissions of a different user account.
  3. To manifest in corporeal form; to personify.

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