Spotted dress, oddly, and wept (8)

I believe the answer is:

descried

'spotted' is the definition.
('descry' can be a synonym of 'spot')

'dress oddly and wept' is the wordplay.
'oddly' indicates alternate letters (letters in the odd-numbered positions are used).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'wept' becomes 'cried' ('cry' can be a synonym of 'weep').
The alternating letters of 'dress' are 'des'.
'des'+'cried'='DESCRIED'

(Another definition for descried that I've seen is " Caught sight of".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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