Cryptic crossword clue
John in Scotland, after pain and deprivation, is naively optimistic 11

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 11 letter word PANGLOSSIAN

I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
P
A
N
G
L
O
S
S
I
A
N

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "naively optimistic" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case naively optimistic = panglossian.
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.

Latest crossword clues with full explanations