Cryptic crossword clue
Characters held by copper are seen to be so careful 6-6

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 6 letter word SOFTLY SOFTLY

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
O
F
T
L
Y
S
O
F
T
L
Y

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "careful" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case careful = softly softly.
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 SOFTLY SOFTLY mean?

SOFTLY SOFTLY adjective
  1. (often hyphenated) Discreet, low-key, careful.
SOFTLY SOFTLY noun
  1. (western or central Africa) The potto, Perodicticus potto, a primate in the family Lorisidae.

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