The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word MARQUETRY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
M
A
R
Q
U
E
T
R
Y
More clues leading to the result MARQUETRY
- Silent, not one to interrupt what joiner does: woodwork
- Make attempt to produce wood decoration
- Quarter gets messed up in gracious woodwork
- Decorative work to get spliced outside still lacking centrepiece
- Attempt to support brand in woodwork
- Stain said to test out decorative wood patterning
- Make an effort to follow brand in woodwork
- Make and test inlaid work
- Man returns with question about model's inlaid decoration
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "woodwork" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case woodwork = marquetry.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 MARQUETRY mean?
MARQUETRY noun- A decorative technique in which veneers of wood, ivory, metal etc. are inlaid into a wood surface to form intricate designs.
- An example of this work