The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ELUSIVE
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
E
L
U
S
I
V
E
More clues leading to the result ELUSIVE
- Dodgy individual giving ninety the sack
- Hard to find our lot in East, as it happens
- European charged outside America is difficult to catch
- Use evil in a nasty way, being slippery
- American protected by wicked European in retreat is hard to catch
- Following end of chase, evil US criminal is hard to find
- Hard to locate European, as it happens, going around America
- Slippery European capable of shocking, taking us in
- English last to accept American transient
- Hard to grasp scoop Times initially chucked out
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "hard to catch" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case hard to catch = elusive.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 ELUSIVE mean?
ELUSIVE adjective- Evading capture, comprehension or remembrance.
- Difficult to make precise.
- Rarely seen.