The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 2 plus 3 letter word THIN ON TOP
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
T
H
I
N
O
N
T
O
P
More clues leading to the result THIN ON TOP
- Almost imagine winning: not so hairy now
- Criminal in photo stealing books possibly over forty, by the looks of it
- Slim and winning but too late to keep one’s hair on
- This endless, endless sportscast initially excluded Balding
- Consider short leg spinner, balding
- Both sons dismissed this non-stop balding
- Balding actor essentially seeks advice about performing operation
- Balding spinner going after most of the batting side in cricket
- Balding, with obsession mostly about cap
- Fine leg spinner, balding
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "over forty, by the looks of it" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case over forty, by the looks of it = thin on top.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.