The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word EPAULETTE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
E
P
A
U
L
E
T
T
E
More clues leading to the result EPAULETTE
- Earl leads girl to a flashy pad
- Flashing of the shoulder from Oriental female?
- Earl with girl on his shoulder, a sign of his rank
- Note Ms Goddard in a flap?
- Exercise to reverse EU involvement with latte adornment
- Oriental girl and rank stars here?
- Old Major’s decoration embroidered initially onto uniform in a range of colours
- Monkey about with game of chance, knocking heads off ornament
- Part of Sgt Pepper uniform beginning to excite McCartney imitator?
- Finishing touch for service uniform, in a range of colours?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "flashy pad" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case flashy pad = epaulette.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 EPAULETTE mean?
EPAULETTE noun- An ornamentation, worn on the shoulders of a military uniform, as a sign of rank
- A similar piece of trimming on a lady’s dress
- A plate on the anterior wings of some insects
- The red patch on the shoulders of a red-winged blackbird