The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word SLEEP
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
L
E
E
P
More clues leading to the result SLEEP
- Slumber an old PM’s rejected
- … upset old British PM’s slumber
- Raised strips drop off
- Old Prime Minister’s gone back ... to this?
- Skin of fruit’s twisted to drop off
- Strips after retiring for shuteye
- Strips, having returned for rest
- Rest the French in a month
- Look over 50? To begin with, please rest
- Wayne maybe takes strip off back to rest?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "drop off" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case drop off = sleep.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 SLEEP mean?
SLEEP verb- To rest in a state of reduced consciousness.
- (of a spinning top or yo-yo) To spin on its axis with no other perceptible motion.
- To cause (a spinning top or yo-yo) to spin on its axis with no other perceptible motion.
- To accommodate in beds.
- To be slumbering in (a state).
- To be careless, inattentive, or unconcerned; not to be vigilant; to live thoughtlessly.
- To be dead; to lie in the grave.
- To be, or appear to be, in repose; to be quiet; to be unemployed, unused, or unagitated; to rest; to lie dormant.
- To wait for a period of time without performing any action.
- To place into a state of hibernation.
- The state of reduced consciousness during which a human or animal rests in a daily rhythm.
- An act or instance of sleeping.
- (metonymically) A night.
- Rheum, crusty or gummy discharge found in the corner of the eyes after waking, whether real or a figurative objectification of sleep (in the sense of reduced consciousness).
- A state of plants, usually at night, when their leaflets approach each other and the flowers close and droop, or are covered by the folded leaves.
- The hibernation of animals.