The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 2 plus 5 letter word CHERCHEZ LA FEMME
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
C
H
E
R
C
H
E
Z
L
A
F
E
M
M
E
More clues leading to the result CHERCHEZ LA FEMME
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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.