The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 4 letter word ERNIE WISE
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
E
R
N
I
E
W
I
S
E
More clues leading to the result ERNIE WISE
- Comic, Eagle, keeping one enlightened
- British writer of plays, who specialised in comedy
- Ulster starts to expect witty improvisation in Irish comedian
- Comic, original one touring island in Irish
- Prize distributor we impressed is a deluded TV playwright
- Bond selector and intelligent straight man
- Bondsman to have letters dictated for comedian
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "comedian" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case comedian = ernie wise.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.