The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 3 letter word PIGS EAR
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
P
I
G
S
E
A
R
More clues leading to the result PIGS EAR
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "a mess" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a mess = pigs ear.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.