Did an about turn as funny woman on drugs painted a picture (8)
I believe the answer is:
withdrew
'painted a picture' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with communicating as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'did an about turn as funny woman on drugs' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is found in the answer.
'about' could be 're' ('re' means regarding or about) and 're' is found within the answer.
'turn' could be 't' (abbreviation in Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations) and 't' is found in the answer.
'woman' could be 'w' (abbreviation eg in Woman Police Constable) and 'w' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for withdrew that I've seen before include "Scratched" , "retired" , "Took back" , "Backed away or bowed out" , "Took away; retreated" .)