The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word OUTLAY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
O
U
T
L
A
Y
More clues leading to the result OUTLAY
- Cost of old-fashioned ballad
- Expenditure always dogging dismissed Liberal
- Expenditure not in place
- Expenditure revealed by non-professional
- Cost of swapping equal parts of design
- Revealed non-professional expenditure
- Cost of no longer popular piece of music
- Expenditure in station previously disclosed
- Cost of exchanging model railway components
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Expenditure" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case expenditure = outlay.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 OUTLAY mean?
OUTLAY noun- A laying out or expending; that which is laid out or expended.
- The spending of money, or an expenditure.
- A remote haunt or habitation.
- To lay or spread out; expose; display.
- To spend, or distribute money.