The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 3 letter word LAUNCH PAD
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
L
A
U
N
C
H
P
A
D
More clues leading to the result LAUNCH PAD
- Origin of long journey Spooner's pot boy makes
- One’s fired up here to hold flat-warming party?
- Secretary meets director after a filling meal – it’s a good start to a career
- A cracking place for meal, perhaps for rocket starter?
- Ultimately one run short
- Where you take off home after a filling repast
- Point of departure from boat with stuff
- Walk after meal round a point of departure
- Boat with flat place to take off
- New chap excitedly showered with praise for start of project
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Where you take off" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case where you take off = launch pad.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.