Crossword Genius

A bunch of flyers withdrawing some way off (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

afar

'some way off' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a bunch of flyers withdrawing' is the wordplay.
'bunch of flyers' becomes 'raf' (Royal Air Force).
'withdrawing' says the letters should be written backwards.
'raf' backwards is 'far'.
'a'+'far'='AFAR'

(Other definitions for afar that I've seen before include "At a distance (literary)" , "Pull out at a distance" , "Way-out" , "from baseline to baseline?" , "Many a mile" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app