Cryptic crossword clue
Conservative, dim and blown apart, to become more humble 5,4

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 4 letter word CLIMB DOWN

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "become more humble" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case become more humble = climb down.
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 CLIMB DOWN mean?

CLIMB DOWN noun
  1. (sometimes hyphenated) An abandonment, withdrawal from, or softening of a previously expressed opinion, policy, argument, etc.

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