The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 3 letter word AD LIB
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
D
L
I
B
More clues leading to the result AD LIB
- A politician receiving duke without preparation
- Made-up address politician chasing promotion might give?
- Improvised, most of excuse involving daughter
- Don’t plan a German paperback
- Actor’s instruction to play As You Like It?
- Improvise a German tabloid’s come-uppance?
- Freely acknowledge at the outset offer of money will secure left back
- Bit of speech the actor didn’t rehearse
- Off-the-cuff comment, curiously ribald, not run
- Impromptu commercial by party member
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "without preparation" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case without preparation = ad lib.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 AD LIB mean?
AD LIB verb- To improvise all or part of a speech or other performance, especially in comedy.