Stump your brain: Solving the elusive ‘Send off’ crossword clue

As a detective, my first instinct when faced with the clue ‘Send (off)‘ is to consider synonyms for the word ‘send‘. Words like ‘dispatch‘, ‘forward‘, ‘deliver‘, and ‘mail‘ come to mind. However, the use of the word ‘off‘ in the clue suggests that the answer is not a straightforward synonym for ‘send‘. Instead, I begin to think of words or phrases that include both ‘send‘ and ‘off‘. One such phrase is ‘ship off‘, as it conveys a sense of sending something away or dispatching it. Additionally, the word ‘ship‘ on its own can also mean to send or transport something, as in ‘to ship a package‘. Armed with these insights, I feel confident that ‘ship‘ is the answer to this crossword clue.