The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word ESSEN
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
E
S
S
E
N
More clues leading to the result ESSEN
- Uncommon sense in a German city
- German city contributing to business, energised
- English head going over German city
- German city identified by odd characters in East Sheen
- English nurse once touring south German city
- Tin symbolically represented German industrial centre
- Head east, the wrong way, to reach city on the Ruhr
- Poles sounding out German city
- Messenger’s Großstadt
- German city to wane in importance after dismissing leader
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "German city" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case german city = essen.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.