The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word CLOCHE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
C
L
O
C
H
E
More clues leading to the result CLOCHE
- Hat that’s extremely comfortable crossing northern lake
- Highland water in church that encourages growth
- Briefly observe man in hat
- Protection in bed? That’s old hat
- It’s a commonplace to replace one with ring plant protector
- Cold, having short hair, the fellow gets hat
- Long, perhaps, to feed disheartened cattle, giving protection for young stock?
- Awe possibly secured by church hat
- Hat and cape lost where darts are thrown
- Cover for plants he added after short time
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "hat" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case hat = cloche.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 CLOCHE mean?
CLOCHE noun- A glass covering, originally bell-shaped, for garden plants to prevent frost damage and promote early growth.
- A bell-shaped, close-fitting women’s hat with a deep rounded crown and narrow rim.
- A tableware cover, often resembling a bell.
- An apparatus used in controlling certain aeroplanes, consisting principally of a steering column mounted with a universal joint at the base, which is bell-shaped and has attached to it the cables for controlling the wing-warping devices, elevator planes, etc.