The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word UNBIDDABLE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
U
N
B
I
D
D
A
B
L
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Hard to handle/like a pointless holding" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case hard to handle/like a pointless holding = unbiddable.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 UNBIDDABLE mean?
UNBIDDABLE adjective- Not biddable