The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 2 plus 3 plus 4 letter word SCRUFF OF THE NECK
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
C
R
U
F
F
O
F
T
H
E
N
E
C
K
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "By which to take control" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case by which to take control = scruff of the neck.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.