The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word NINETIES
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
N
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More clues leading to the result NINETIES
- When the heat’s on – in tennis set, that is
- In Newcastle, popular liaisons: they were once described as naughty!
- Time as defined by Einstein in a certain formulation
- Nervous time may spoil intense first innings
- Einstein’s resolved twenty-oddyears ago, say
- Hugo Boss announcing no neckwear for a decade
- Abducted by alien in ET, I estimate for ten years
- A number of marriages in later years
- Teen is in broadcast thirty years after swinging?
- Period after which a ton may be delivered
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "twenty-odd (and more) years ago, say" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case twenty-odd (and more) years ago, say = nineties.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 NINETIES mean?
NINETIES noun- Plural of ninety
- The decade of the 1890s, 1990s, etc.
- The decade of one's life from age 90 through age 99.
- (temperature, rates) The range between 90 and 99.
- From or evoking the 91st through 100th years of a century (chiefly the 1990s).