Superior to directors off the ship (9)
I believe the answer is:
overboard
'superior to directors off the ship' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'superior to directors off the' is the wordplay.
'superior' becomes 'over' (I've seen this in other clues).
'to directors' becomes 'theboard'.
'off' indicates named letters should be taken away ('off' can mean to remove).
'theboard' with 'the' taken out is 'board'.
'over'+'board'='OVERBOARD'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for overboard that I've seen before include "excess" , "in the main, unfortunately?" , "(Going) from a ship into the water" , "Man ...! Stop the ship" , "Film" .)