The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word MILITIA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
M
I
L
I
T
I
A
More clues leading to the result MILITIA
- Armed forces I landed within target making return trip
- Dream about restraining one drunk fighting civilians
- Fighting force initially might, it’s likely, if trained in advance
- End up arresting large Italian, leader of inept volunteer force
- FA's forerunner came down on one with a certain force
- I follow it during training of Mali reservists
- Dad’s Army idiot initially fired into raised target
- One ignited inside target, recalled troops
- Force one on through lying about purpose
- Motorway with illuminations, westbound excellent for emergency service?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Dad’s Army" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case dad’s army = militia.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 MILITIA mean?
MILITIA noun- An army of trained civilians, which may be an official reserve army, called upon in time of need, the entire able-bodied population of a state which may also be called upon, or a private force not under government control.
- The police in the Soviet Union and some related or successor states (e.g. modern Belarus).