Steps into small joint to find long-distance traveller? (9)
I believe the answer is:
spaceship
'long-distance traveller?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'steps into small joint' is the wordplay.
'steps' becomes 'paces' (pace is a kind of step).
'into' is an insertion indicator.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'joint' becomes 'hip joint' (part of body).
's'+'hip'='ship'
'paces' placed into 'ship' is 'SPACESHIP'.
'to find' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for spaceship that I've seen before include "Transport that's out of this world" , "Interplanetary craft" , "long-distance traveller?" , "Craft to travel outside the Earth's atmosphere" , "Craft for an astronaut" .)