The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word FAGIN
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
F
A
G
I
N
More clues leading to the result FAGIN
- Criminal act caught out after strong drink
- Dickensian description of smoker’s mouth
- Soldier’s in the cooler – he trained criminals
- OT character’s hard work at home
- Cigarette all the rage for Dickensian villain
- Cigarette lit for gang leader
- Character from ‘Oliver!’ with cigarette — that’s cool?
- Villainous character bringing junior pupil home
- Dickensian character portrayed smoking?
- Group running the game trap criminal boss
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Dickensian" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case dickensian = fagin.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.