The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word CHRISTMAS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
C
H
R
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S
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M
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S
More clues leading to the result CHRISTMAS
- Putting melted lead in starch is off for the present time
- Festival flourishing its charms
- Companion backing Montana teacher as sort of 19
- 10 going into Cambridge college for the present time
- Stocking up time
- Speed of light? Uncommonly smartish!
- Art schism about a festival
- Present time in which misc. trash gets distributed!
- Noel Edmonds finally involved in its March broadcast
- ‘…its charms all around…’
Buddy explains!

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.