Stare at space excitedly when cast off alone (8)
I believe the answer is:
separate
'alone' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'stare at space excitedly when cast off' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'at' is present in the answer.
'when' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'spare' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for separate that I've seen before include "Divide, keep apart" , "Dinstinct or discrete" , "Divide, part" , "divorce" , "Divided or detached" .)