The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 11 letter word SENSATIONAL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
E
N
S
A
T
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O
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A
L
More clues leading to the result SENSATIONAL
- Startling sea lions at aft of ocean wreck
- Revolutionary Stalin as one evoking horror?
- Amazing Home Counties newspaper widely read around south
- Exciting? Alas, one isn’t excited
- Scandalous sonata lines rewritten
- Fabulous son in south-east of country
- Spectacular opening to album in ‘Rolling Stones in LA’
- Brilliant
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Brilliant/as a scandalous headline?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case brilliant/as a scandalous headline? = sensational.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 SENSATIONAL mean?
SENSATIONAL adjective- Of or pertaining to sensation.
- Piquing or arousing the senses.
- Provocative.
- Exceptionally great.