The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 3 letter word AT ALL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
T
A
L
L
More clues leading to the result AT ALL
- A running total, not complete in any circumstances
- American not believable in any way
- One hardly to be believed in any circumstances
- Ever a giant
- A giant in any way
- A giant, anyway
- A big couple of words for ‘ever’
- Essentially crave to get high in any way
- Article of great height in any manner
- Ace high, anyway
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "in any circumstances" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case in any circumstances = at all.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.