The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word APACHE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
P
A
C
H
E
More clues leading to the result APACHE
- Native American quickly casing hotel
- Native American swiftly tethering horse
- Native American quickly burying head in hands
- Original American term for “ultra cheap shot”
- Helicopter swiftly circling hospital
- Dad’s in pain, pehaps being brave
- An assistant to a revolutionary Geronimo?
- Dad’s in pain, being brave perhaps
- Indigenous person from Hungary breaking fast
- Perhaps a brave father put up with pain
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Helicopter" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case helicopter = apache.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 APACHE mean?
APACHE noun- Any of several Athabascan-speaking peoples of the American southwest excluding Navajo, i.e. Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Plains Apache, or Western Apache.
- A person belonging to an Apache people.
- A Parisian gangster of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- AH-64 Apache, a U.S. military helicopter.