Cryptic crossword clue
Fail to rise in corporation? On the contrary 2,5,2

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 5 plus 2 letter word GO BELLY UP

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
G
O
B
E
L
L
Y
U
P

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Fail" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case fail = go belly up.
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.

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