Landowner taking day off in sanctuary (4)

I believe the answer is:

lair

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

'off in sanctuary' is the definition.
'lair' can be an answer for 'sanctuary' (thesaurus). I am not sure about the 'off in' bit.

'landowner taking day' is the wordplay.
'landowner' becomes 'laird' (Scottish term for a landowner).
'taking' is a deletion indicator.
'day' becomes 'd'.
'laird' with 'd' taken away is 'LAIR'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for lair that I've seen before include "Place to hide" , "office?" , "Rail around hiding-place" , "enclosure" , "Rail around animal's den" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.