The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word MILES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
M
I
L
E
S
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "A lot" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a lot = miles.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 MILES mean?
MILES noun- The international mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 1.609344 kilometers established by treaty among Anglophone nations in 1959, divided into 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards.
- Any of several customary units of length derived from the 1593 English statute mile of 8 furlongs, equivalent to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards of various precise values.
- Any of many customary units of length derived from the Roman mile (mille passus) of 8 stades or 5,000 Roman feet.
- The Scandinavian mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 10 kilometers defined in 1889.
- Any of many customary units of length from other measurement systems of roughly similar values, as the Chinese (里) or Arabic mile (al-mīl).
- (travel) An airline mile in a frequent flier program.
- Any similarly large distance.
- A race of 1 mile's length; a race of around 1 mile's length (usually 1500 or 1600 meters)
- One mile per hour, as a measure of speed.
- Much; a lot (used to emphasise a comparative)