The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ERASMUS
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
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More clues leading to the result ERASMUS
- Scholar’s problems are returning
- Masseur kneaded Dutchman
- Problems are over for Renaissance scholar
- Theologian enthralled by opera’s musicality
- Rejecting queen, marquess turns philosopher
- Theologian‘s revolutionary answer to “what are problems?”
- Great scholar of arithmetic is retiring
- Humanist answer to “what are problems arising”?
- Times chief points the wrong way for humanist
- Problems are mounting for Dutch scholar
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Dutch humanist uses arm to get smacked-up (7)/Dutch humanist" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case dutch humanist uses arm to get smacked-up (7)/dutch humanist = erasmus.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.