The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word AVERTS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
V
E
R
T
S
More clues leading to the result AVERTS
- Prevents vast reforms overwhelming monarch
- Prevents Turkey's premier entering States
- Notice daughter’s left before son heads off
- Turns aside from green landing in sandy feature?
- Heads off right after welcome by son
- Stops and notices five hundred escaping
- Prevents director leaving commercials
- Stops rites regularly following prayer
- Turns away non-Democrat promotions
- Stops cooking, starves endlessly
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "heads off" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case heads off = averts.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 AVERTS mean?
AVERTS verb- To turn aside or away.
- To ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of.
- To turn away.
- To turn away.