Cryptic crossword clue
and 18: Toast in base tent, foolishly — take precautions! 6,4

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 4 plus 3 plus 7 letter word BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES

I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
B
A
T
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E
N
D
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S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "take precautions!" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case take precautions! = batten down the hatches.
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.

Crossword Answer definitions

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