Cryptic crossword clue
England doing badly?  Dropping one-paced openers is pleasing

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word GLADDENING

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
G
L
A
D
D
E
N
I
N
G

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "pleasing" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case pleasing = gladdening.
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 GLADDENING mean?

GLADDENING verb
  1. To cause (something) to become more glad.
  2. To become more glad in one's disposition.

Latest crossword clues with full explanations