The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word ELTON
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
E
L
T
O
N
More clues leading to the result ELTON
- Popcorn writer found in hotel to nibble
- John who lives in a Cambridgeshire village
- John being one learner in exclusive institution
- The foreign fashion revealed by a singing John
- John Bull’s back in wealthy English institution
- Learner in school is John, perhaps
- Comedian-author partly responsible for sequel to Network
- John Lennon’s No.1 in college
- John, the Spanish heavyweight
- John, who’s let off working
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "John" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case john = elton.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.