The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 4 letter word SPLIT ENDS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
P
L
I
T
E
N
D
S
More clues leading to the result SPLIT ENDS
- Adriatic port targets problem with locks
- Den broken into leaves damaged locks
- Pils drunk by nurses? Shock horror, for some
- Getting forks out to skewer books, those unpleasantly dry?
- Croatian goals causing shock outcome?
- What open doors and often don’t close, shock horror!
- Drunk coughs up, covering offensive players overseas
- Rent objectives may be shock problem
- Finishes after rent is shock problem for girls
- Parted sides to reveal damaged hair
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "problem with locks" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case problem with locks = split ends.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.