The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word MANDARINS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
M
A
N
D
A
R
I
N
S
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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 MANDARINS mean?
MANDARINS noun- A high government bureaucrat of the Chinese Empire
- A pedantic or elitist bureaucrat
- A pedantic senior person of influence in academia or literary circles
- A senior civil servant
- (color) an orange colour
- A perching duck that has a red bill, large white crescent above the eye and reddish face, Aix galericulata.
- A small citrus tree (Citrus reticulata) with fruit resembling the orange.
- The fruit of this tree, smaller than an orange and oblate. In daily usage, it may include other similar citrus fruits like Citrus unshiu (satsuma or mikan) Citrus tangerina (tangerine).