The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word GOETHE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
G
O
E
T
H
E
More clues leading to the result GOETHE
- German author's attempt overlooks English theory, half completed
- Journey east accompanied by the German writer
- Good article about Old English writer
- German writer’s progress with English article
- The ego-trip of a German writer
- Attempt to cover alien, explosive, German writer
- Romantic 22 down love — catch man admitting it
- German writer attempts unfinished article
- Good article about old English author who wrote in German
- German writer leaves short article
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "German writer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case german writer = goethe.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.