The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 2 plus 2 letter word AS IT IS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
S
I
T
I
S
More clues leading to the result AS IT IS
- Last-rite list uncovered in 13
- A sibling maintains pose unchanged
- Anglo-Saxon illness in the current circumstances?
- The way things are, not even a T-shirt fits
- Already in transit, I sail westward
- Lie, one covered up by principals in approved school already
- Unaltered, it’s as I designed
- Things being so advanced, rest on current square
- Currently, warship tails every other one
- In the present state, article lies about leader in Ireland
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "In the present state" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case in the present state = as it is.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.