Crossword Genius

Go off former European Union? Nicest on the outside (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

exeunt

'go off' is the definition.
(plural of 'exit' in stage directions)

'former european union? nicest on the outside' is the wordplay.
'former' becomes 'ex'.
'european union?' becomes 'eu'.
'on the outside' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'nicest' with its centre taken out is 'nt'.
'ex'+'eu'+'nt'='EXEUNT'

(Other definitions for exeunt that I've seen before include "Stage direction to a group of actors (Latin)" , "They leave (stage direction)" , "Trivial details" , "(Actors) depart" , "(Actors) leave stage" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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