The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ANOMALY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
N
O
M
A
L
Y
More clues leading to the result ANOMALY
- There's curiosity in an old tree inhabited by lemurs originally
- Clad in vinyl, a monarch's turned up something odd
- In turning up sibyl, a monastery’s deviant
- Freak indeed eating no food — appetite ultimately lost
- Moan about a lady on vacation- something not quite right?
- Layman with nothing to revise would be an exception
- Loamy ground beyond an exceptional thing?
- Loan may be arranged, though it’s irregular
- An old tree full of life originally, an exceptional thing
- Loan may get arranged, though it’s irregular
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "an exceptional thing" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case an exceptional thing = anomaly.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 ANOMALY mean?
ANOMALY noun- A deviation from a rule or from what is regarded as normal; an outlier.
- Something or someone that is strange or unusual.
- Any event or measurement that is out of the ordinary regardless of whether it is exceptional or not.
- Any of various angular distances.
- A defect or malformation.
- A failure of a classical symmetry due to quantum corrections.
- An irregularity or disproportion.