The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word SIDEWINDER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
S
I
D
E
W
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N
D
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R
More clues leading to the result SIDEWINDER
- … team’s success revoking card 14
- Team triumph, the German air-to-air missile
- Crushing victory desired, unfortunately, as 23
- Team get a good result bringing back coloured snake
- Desired win, fired missile
- Snake, being this, dies as the outcome?
- Team getting victory launched revolutionary air-to-air missile
- Snake resided in wild, around West
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "missile" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case missile = sidewinder.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 SIDEWINDER mean?
SIDEWINDER noun- A North American rattlesnake, Crotalus cerastes, that inhabits lowland deserts.
- A person who is untrustworthy and dangerous.
- A heavy swinging blow from the side which disables an adversary.
- A pitcher who throws sidearm.
- A type of middle-distance deep-sea trawler widely used during the 1960s and 1970s.