The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word MARMALADE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
M
A
R
M
A
L
A
D
E
More clues leading to the result MARMALADE
- Horse carrying disease endlessly spread
- Preserve power a dashing extrovert installed in Middle East
- Preserve sheep brought back by young chap in West
- Preserve a medal thrown out after damage
- Characters in male drama dancing like some queens?
- Spoil man eating a daughter’s preserve
- Preserve a certain cat
- Equip a boy to fight, interrupting compiler’s spread
- Preserve condition restricting weapon a boy’s after
- Preserve horse, keeping a lot of illness suppressed
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "spread" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case spread = marmalade.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 MARMALADE mean?
MARMALADE noun- Citrus fruit variant of jam but distinguished by being made slightly bitter by the addition of the peel and by partial caramelisation during manufacture. Most commonly made with Seville oranges, and usually qualified by the name of the fruit when made with other types of fruit.
- To spread marmalade on.