The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word DUMBO
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
D
U
M
B
O
More clues leading to the result DUMBO
- Departs with boss on elephant
- Slow-witted type ultimately exasperated boss
- Thickhead finally sacked by boss
- Old boy with gossip about ‘remarkable elephant‘
- Nothing follows silent film
- D made him say nothing twice
- Oscar goes to silent film
- Nothing shown after silent film
- Film medic visiting couple
- Stupid duck in animated film
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "elephant" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case elephant = dumbo.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 DUMBO mean?
DUMBO noun- A stupid person.
- "Stupid person," by 1951, American English, from dumb. The Disney musical cartoon is from 1941; in it the elephant's name is a mocking nickname based on Jumbo.