The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word VERNAL
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
V
E
R
N
A
L
More clues leading to the result VERNAL
- Seasonal meat cut with force at sea?
- Spring roll initially put in for sale
- Youthful Robespierre initially incorruptible?
- Fresh meat tucked into by sailors
- Appearing in spring in ‘Cavern’ all-nighters
- Fresh meat sailors swallowed
- Fresh in tavern, always
- Every one calm in the middle of spring
- Unprincipled about runs in first season
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Fresh" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case fresh = vernal.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 VERNAL mean?
VERNAL adjective- Pertaining to or occurring in spring.
- Having characteristics like spring; fresh, young, youthful.