The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 4 letter word NEW YEAR
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
N
E
W
Y
E
A
R
More clues leading to the result NEW YEAR
- When it's Hogmanay, we yearn to go wild
- Close to crossing river? Time for resolution
- Spoils were even, say, this time
- When resolutions were made? Were any broken?
- Drunken Hogmanay ultimately leads to this
- The Guardian’s backyard in close season
- River dams close – early days, perhaps?
- Warn eye make-up will require change at end of date
- Annual excuse for party — were any disturbed?
- We yearn for change in 2015
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "this" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case this = new year.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.