The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word ESPADRILLE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
E
S
P
A
D
R
I
L
L
E
More clues leading to the result ESPADRILLE
- European detective crossing stream in canvas shoe
- Barking seller paid for something to put on one of his plates?
- English Channel flooding digger — something afoot?
- Spring training in extremely effective footwear
- “Shoe is damaged”, replies lad
- Footwear for English banker wearing suit
- Footwear beginning to encumber digger around stream
- Heading for Egyptian resort, bore acquires eastern footwear
- Special faculty associated with publicity and moon furrow footwear
- Awful lie involving student spread around before you put your foot in it
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "something to put on one of his plates" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case something to put on one of his plates = espadrille.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 ESPADRILLE mean?
ESPADRILLE noun- A light shoe having an upper made of fabric and a sole of rope.