The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word PENITENTIARY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
P
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More clues leading to the result PENITENTIARY
- Senior Catholic girl heard cardinal attempt to entertain oneRoman American
- One who's sorry journal excludes first prison
- Sorry, daughter’s left appointment book in prison
- Intern a type I fancy, here?
- An American can
- America’s cooler
- Writer revised arty tie-in for restrictive institution
- It’s possibly cooler in North America?
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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 PENITENTIARY mean?
PENITENTIARY noun- A state or federal prison for convicted felons; (broadly) a prison.
- A priest in the Roman Catholic Church who administers the sacrament of penance.
- One who prescribes the rules and measures of penance.
- One who does penance.
- A small building in a monastery, or a part of a church, where penitents confessed.
- An office of the papal court which examines cases of conscience, confession, absolution from vows, etc., and delivers decisions, dispensations, etc.; run by a cardinal called the Grand Penitentiary who is appointed by the pope.
- An officer in some dioceses since 1215, vested with power from the bishop to absolve in cases reserved to him.
- Of or relating to penance; penitential.
- Of or relating to the punishment of criminals.