Ran around like a headless chicken as father got picked up by the guards locally (8)
I believe the answer is:
panicked
'ran' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with motion as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'around like a headless chicken as father got picked up by the guards locally' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'around' could be 'c' (abbreviation for 'circa') and 'c' is found within the answer.
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'piked' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for panicked that I've seen before include "Became frantic with fear" , "Unnnerved" , "lost nerve" , "Scared" .)