The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word AFFLICTION
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
F
F
L
I
C
T
I
O
N
More clues leading to the result AFFLICTION
- A fine story about damsel’s end in distress
- A fine line divides romance and suffering
- Nothing up? Force Frenchman into possible trouble
- Ridiculous clot in FIFA is a cause of severe distress
- Suffering in Florida during a romance
- A Fine Romance: left in distress
- A fine story about long suffering
- A fine story about law and trial...
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "distress" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case distress = affliction.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 AFFLICTION mean?
AFFLICTION noun- A state of pain, suffering, distress or agony.
- Something which causes pain, suffering, distress or agony.