The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word TRUE NORTH
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
T
R
U
E
N
O
R
T
H
More clues leading to the result TRUE NORTH
- Having strayed, turn to her for direction
- Direction to Pole back in quiet street abroad
- This is right, one viewed from the south in fact?
- What homeward Santa aims for, bearing right first
- Turn to her, upset, to find direction
- At sixes and sevens, turn to her for direction
- Lousy tenor hurt Canada, lyrically
- Accurate reading misinterpreted then, tour crossing river
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Direction to Pole" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case direction to pole = true north.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.