Cryptic crossword clue
Big actor falling short — that is what you need for a sad movie 6

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word HANKIE

I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
H
A
N
K
I
E

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "what you need for a sad movie" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case what you need for a sad movie = hankie.
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 HANKIE mean?

HANKIE noun
  1. (abbreviation, short) A handkerchief

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