Cryptic crossword clue
Difficulty of driver initially getting into gear 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word HARDNESS

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Difficulty" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case difficulty = hardness.
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 HARDNESS mean?

HARDNESS noun
  1. The quality of being hard.
  2. An instance of this quality; hardship.
  3. The quantity of calcium carbonate dissolved in water, usually expressed in parts per million (ppm).
  4. The resistance to scratching, cutting, indentation or abrasion of a metal or other solid material.
  5. The penetrating ability of electromagnetic radiation, such as x-rays; generally, the shorter the wavelength, the harder and more penetrating the radiation.
  6. The measure of resistance to damage of a facility, equipment, installation, or telecommunications infrastructure when subjected to attack.

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