Stared at a space-man? (5)
I believe the answer is:
gaped
'stared' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with perception as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'at a space-man?' is the wordplay.
'at' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a space' becomes 'gap' (gap is a kind of space).
'man?' becomes 'ed' (short for edward).
'gap' put next to 'ed' is 'GAPED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gaped that I've seen before include "Opened mouth wide" , "Looked stunned" , "Stared open-mouthed - yawned" , "shown astonishment" , "Was yawning" .)