The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word HYPOTHESIS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
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More clues leading to the result HYPOTHESIS
- Injection before the son is 21
- Excitement about vaguely hot relative, 18
- Posh tie, shy, dressed up to make proposition
- In theory doctor’s posh, yet embodying extremes of hoi polloi
- Hopes this is working without Anthony’s last idea
- Is the shop opening in Yeominster? Fantastic idea
- Fanfare about hot nuts — sister’s idea
- Theory he posits all over the place is hopelessly vacuous to start with
- Proposition that could be inadequate for a dissertation?
- Jabber in front of MI6, providing possible explanation
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "possible explanation" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case possible explanation = hypothesis.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 HYPOTHESIS mean?
HYPOTHESIS noun- Used loosely, a tentative conjecture explaining an observation, phenomenon or scientific problem that can be tested by further observation, investigation and/or experimentation. As a scientific term of art, see the attached quotation. Compare to theory, and quotation given there.
- (general) An assumption taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation.
- (grammar) The antecedent of a conditional statement.