The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word ANGOSTURA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
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A
More clues leading to the result ANGOSTURA
- Finally ruins ragout with an awfully bitter substance
- Bark in distress about love offered to Universal Artists
- Bark of rabbit ingesting soft drugs regularly
- Possibly a sugar, not something bitter
- What could make you groan at us and bark
- Put in a drink, it could knock Argonauts out
- Bitter shock, almost breaks down
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "bitter substance" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case bitter substance = angostura.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 ANGOSTURA mean?
ANGOSTURA noun- Angostura bitters
- A South American tree, with bark used in tradition medicine and as an ingredient in various bitters (but not Angostura bitters), Angostura trifoliata.