Cryptic crossword clue
Hoskins is a German! Bit of surprise for those scanning docs? 7

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word IMAGERS

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
I
M
A
G
E
R
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "those scanning docs" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case those scanning docs = imagers.
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 IMAGERS mean?

IMAGERS noun
  1. One who images or forms likenesses; a sculptor.
  2. A system that creates a digital copy such as a disk image.

Latest crossword clues with full explanations