The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 3 plus 4 letter word ON THE LINE
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
O
N
T
H
E
L
I
N
E
More clues leading to the result ON THE LINE
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "How one might describe caller/at risk" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case how one might describe caller/at risk = on the line.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.