The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word OXYMORON
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
O
X
Y
M
O
R
O
N
More clues leading to the result OXYMORON
- Deafening silence, perhaps, after Oscar axes dunce
- Neat conclusion to Motley Fool, a figure of speech
- Oscar coordinates fool’s original copy?
- Love and sex play, finally, with an idiot? Idiot savant, perhaps
- Head of Ofcom coordinates satellite coverage of rugby at first, which seems contradictory
- New moon, with x OR y, makes darkness visible perhaps
- Axes to split old plank, pretty ugly one
- First off, cunning idiot could be one of these
- Stupid contradiction of love kiss planted on celebrity’s rear end and tit
- Bullish idiot producing contradiction in terms
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "pretty ugly one/pretty ugly one" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case pretty ugly one/pretty ugly one = oxymoron.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 OXYMORON mean?
OXYMORON noun- A figure of speech in which two words or phrases with opposing meanings are used together intentionally for effect.
- (sometimes proscribed) A contradiction in terms.