Crossword Genius

Forestalled being guillotined? (6,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

headed off

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'forestalled' is the definition.
(heading off is a kind of forestalling)

'being guillotined?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'being' could be 'head' (head is a kind of being) and 'head' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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