The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word ANIMATION
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
A
N
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M
A
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N
More clues leading to the result ANIMATION
- A race covering one mile demands energy
- A phoney with no sex life
- Without oxygen, maintain lively energy
- I am not in Barking to save a life
- A land-locked island male visits in cartoon
- I’m in a state of exhilaration
- Hoskins is into people pursuing a life
- Excitement? I’m in a state
- Vigour shown as Brendan’s getting in a state
- America’s main problem? Moving into action
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "spirit" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case spirit = animation.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 ANIMATION mean?
ANIMATION noun- The act of animating, or giving life or spirit.
- (in the sense of a cartoon) The technique of making inanimate objects or drawings appear to move in motion pictures or computer graphics; the object (film, computer game, etc.) so produced
- The state of being lively, brisk, or full of spirit and vigor; vivacity; spiritedness
- The condition of being animate or alive.
- Conversion from the inanimate to animate grammatical category