The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 3 letter word BY EAR
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
B
Y
E
A
R
More clues leading to the result BY EAR
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "without referring to the score" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case without referring to the score = by ear.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.