The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 2 plus 5 letter word LIFE OF RILEY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
L
I
F
E
O
F
R
I
L
E
Y
More clues leading to the result LIFE OF RILEY
- Swimming Liffey and Loire for a carefree existence
- Firefly Leo and I manoeuvred, making excellent time
- Oil, if freely flowing, makes everything very easy
- Provided for Ellie splashing out — why one’s very easily led
- It’s easy, being on first with Rex in Yorkshire resort
- Biography of a motor manufacturer in easy street?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "excellent time" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case excellent time = life of riley.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.