Cryptic crossword clue
Courage needed with large waves: they cause grief 13

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 13 letter word HEARTBREAKERS

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
H
E
A
R
T
B
R
E
A
K
E
R
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "they cause grief" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case they cause grief = heartbreakers.
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 HEARTBREAKERS mean?

HEARTBREAKERS noun
  1. Someone, usually attractive, who flirts with or otherwise enamours a person, but does not reciprocate their love.
  2. Something that causes sorrow, grief or extreme disappointment.
  3. A match which ends in defeat for a promising player or team.
  4. An independent role-playing game that attempts to fix various perceived design flaws in an established RPG, but whose few innovations will not reach a wide audience due to its lack of marketability.
  5. A curl or lovelock.

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