Crossword Genius

Put to flight? Not quite the way (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rout

'put to flight?' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'not quite the way' is the wordplay.
'not quite' means to remove the last letter.
'the way' becomes 'route' (route is a kind of way).
'route' with its final letter removed is 'ROUT'.

(Other definitions for rout that I've seen before include "Rowdy mob" , "Headlong flight" , "Total(ly) defeat" , "Defeat disastrously" , "Inflict heavy defeat on" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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