The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 letter word RIO
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
R
I
O
More clues leading to the result RIO
- Traitor oddly missed in port
- Three people heading off for a port
- Unrest curtailed in city
- Disturbance curtailed in South American city
- Time spent by group playing big city
- Disturbance curtailed in foreign port
- After conclusion of dinner I love port
- Erstwhile home of Biggs and Orbison, off and on
- Laugh endlessly in carnival location
- Disorder curtailed in port
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "South American city" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case south american city = rio.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.