The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word STEW
S
T
E
W
More clues leading to the result STEW
- Difficult situation in street our group brought up
- Fix some olla podrida, for example?
- Awkward situation moderate conservatives reversed
- Oven-cooked dish starts to smoke the embarrassing way
- Troublesome situation in fish pond
- Having turned up, adds water to casserole
- Agitated state of boy giving up art?
- State of agitation as weak people got backing
- Tipping to the left, adds water to dish
- Lying back, soaks in hot and steamy state
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Difficult situation" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case difficult situation = stew.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 STEW mean?
STEW noun- A cooking-dish used for boiling; a cauldron.
- A heated bath-room or steam-room; also, a hot bath.
- A brothel.
- A prostitute.
- A dish cooked by stewing.
- A pool in which fish are kept in preparation for eating; a stew pond.
- An artificial bed of oysters.
- A state of agitated excitement, worry, and/or confusion.
- To cook (food) by slowly boiling or simmering.
- To brew (tea) for too long, so that the flavour becomes too strong.
- To suffer under uncomfortably hot conditions.
- To be in a state of elevated anxiety or anger.
- A steward or stewardess on an airplane.