The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 letter word LI
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
L
I
Buddy explains!

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 LI mean?
LI noun- The Chinese mile, a traditional unit of distance equal to 1500 chis or 150 zhangs, now standardized as a half-kilometer (500 meters).
- The Korean mile, a traditional unit of distance equivalent to about 393 m.
- A traditional Chinese unit of weight, equal to one-thousandth of a liang, or fifty milligrams.
- A meaningful ceremony or ritual; etiquette, behaviour.
- An ancient Chinese cauldron having three hollow legs.
- The Chinese mile, a traditional unit of distance equal to 1500 chis or 150 zhangs, now standardized as a half-kilometer (500 meters).
- The Korean mile, a traditional unit of distance equivalent to about 393 m.
- A traditional Chinese unit of weight, equal to one-thousandth of a liang, or fifty milligrams.
- A meaningful ceremony or ritual; etiquette, behaviour.
- An ancient Chinese cauldron having three hollow legs.
- The Chinese mile, a traditional unit of distance equal to 1500 chis or 150 zhangs, now standardized as a half-kilometer (500 meters).
- The Korean mile, a traditional unit of distance equivalent to about 393 m.
- A traditional Chinese unit of weight, equal to one-thousandth of a liang, or fifty milligrams.
- A meaningful ceremony or ritual; etiquette, behaviour.
- An ancient Chinese cauldron having three hollow legs.
- The Chinese mile, a traditional unit of distance equal to 1500 chis or 150 zhangs, now standardized as a half-kilometer (500 meters).
- The Korean mile, a traditional unit of distance equivalent to about 393 m.
- A traditional Chinese unit of weight, equal to one-thousandth of a liang, or fifty milligrams.
- A meaningful ceremony or ritual; etiquette, behaviour.
- An ancient Chinese cauldron having three hollow legs.
- In solfège, the raised sixth note of a major scale (the note A-sharp in the fixed-do system).