The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 7 letter word EN PASSANT
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
E
N
P
A
S
S
A
N
T
More clues leading to the result EN PASSANT
- By the way, NASA sent shot round Pluto at first
- Unled soldiers overtake worker by the way
- By the way, stupidly pen stupid article on time
- By the way, The Guardian ultimately wants to change a worker
- Sent a snap to be developed, incidentally
- Carelessly cut and paste ends of section as piece is removed
- How little man might take steps, out with Anna
- Lessee takes time off, first to get permission and move
- “Move regularly” means permit for worker
- Turn past Senna by the way
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "By the way" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case by the way = en passant.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.