The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word ACERB
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
C
E
R
B
More clues leading to the result ACERB
- Great Britain's flipping harsh
- Cutting a single diamond, maybe, and odd bits of ruby
- Serve Republican British bitter
- Bitter as a native of Belgrade, by the sound of it
- A 21 neighbour, reportedly bitter
- Rex gets stuck into terrific Bass bitter
- Excellent R&B makes you harsh and bitter
- Account depressing topless Balkan tart
- First pieces of April crop – early rhubarb, but bitter and sour
- Bitter and excellent case of beer on the counter
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "bitter" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case bitter = acerb.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.
What does ACERB mean?
ACERB adjective- Sour, bitter, and harsh to the taste, as unripe fruit.
- Sharp and harsh in expressing oneself.