The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word HEATH
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
H
E
A
T
H
More clues leading to the result HEATH
- Old PM displaying intense feeling with husband
- Earlier race taking hour in open country
- Doubly hard to catch swallow in wasteland
- Barren open country hot after high temperature
- Erica has no longer to conserve energy
- PM in place less cultivated?
- Part of a contest next to hospital in uncultivated land
- Some heartache at home in Hampstead?
- Former PM having pressure put on hospital
- Scrub cooker hard
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Barren open country" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case barren open country = heath.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 HEATH mean?
HEATH noun- A tract of level uncultivated land with sandy soil and scrubby vegetation; heathland.
- Any small evergreen shrub of the family Ericaceae.
- Certain butterflies and moths