Cryptic crossword clue
High official confidence in time to stop UN hardliner 14

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 14 letter word UNDERSECRETARY

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
U
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "High official" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case high official = undersecretary.
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 UNDERSECRETARY mean?

UNDERSECRETARY noun
  1. An administrator immediately subordinate to a head of a government department or to a member of a cabinet
  2. An assistant or deputy secretary of a government department in the Philippines and some other countries.

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