The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 5 letter word INVERTED COMMA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
I
N
V
E
R
T
E
D
C
O
M
M
A
More clues leading to the result INVERTED COMMA
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "’" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case ’ = inverted comma.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.