The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 4 letter word HOT SPOT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
H
O
T
S
P
O
T
More clues leading to the result HOT SPOT
- Dangerous place, where stolen drug is cut by dealers finally
- Popular nightclub, where trouble is anticipated
- Hilarious person inhales small quantity in fashionable club
- Dangerous location from which to get stolen jumpers returned
- Good place for reception where trouble may flare up?
- Somewhere dangerous, exciting to see
- Area of potential conflict has son in a stew
- Son splitting stolen drug found in dangerous area
- Latest to pick out popular nightclub?
- Red Square pool’s a lively place
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Area of potential conflict" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case area of potential conflict = hot spot.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.