Cryptic crossword clue
In the soup, my dear, nine of the ingredients pre-blended 5-3

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 3 letter word READY MIX

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
R
E
A
D
Y
M
I
X

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "ingredients pre-blended" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case ingredients pre-blended = ready mix.
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 READY MIX mean?

READY MIX noun
  1. Ready-mixed concrete

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