Cryptic crossword clue
Facial jewellery earl’s got time to replace free of obligation 2,7

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 7 letter word NO STRINGS

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
N
O
S
T
R
I
N
G
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "free of obligation" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case free of obligation = no strings.
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.

Crossword Answer definitions

Latest crossword clues with full explanations