The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word ABYSSINIA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
B
Y
S
S
I
N
I
A
More clues leading to the result ABYSSINIA
- An ibis, say, flying in country once
- Land a hole in one, an amazing start!
- Great hole in one — amazing start in old country
- Something deep in Iowa, old-style country
- Very great depth in one, a nation of old
- Deep chasm in one area of former Red Sea state
- Former name of country with bottomless pit in one area
- Transformation is by Asian country, once
- I may fall into pit in a remote country
- Fox is by Asian country no longer
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "old country" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case old country = abyssinia.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.