Crossword Genius

Stretch from detective's overdue (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dilate

'stretch' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'detective's overdue' is the wordplay.
'detective' becomes 'di' (Detective Inspector abbreviation**).
'overdue' becomes 'late' ('late' can be similar in meaning to 'overdue').
'di'+'late'='DILATE'

'from' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for dilate that I've seen before include "Become wider, pupil of the eye perhaps" , "Speak or write at length - widen" , "Widen, distend" , "Make or become wider" , "Make wider or larger" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app