Crossword Genius

Does he get away from it all in the wilderness? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

deserter

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'does he get away from it all in the wilderness?' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'does he get away from it' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'he' could be 'des' and 'des' is present in the answer.
'from' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is found in the answer.
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for deserter that I've seen before include "Turncoat" , "One illegally leaving armed forces" , "Military runaway" , "Renegade" , "Traitor" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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