The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 3 plus 6 letter word GRASPS THE NETTLE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
G
R
A
S
P
S
T
H
E
N
E
T
T
L
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Deals with a difficulty" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case deals with a difficulty = grasps the nettle.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.