Cryptic crossword clue
Judge old man playing the fool 6

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word JOKING

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
J
O
K
I
N
G

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "playing the fool" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case playing the fool = joking.
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 JOKING mean?

JOKING verb
  1. To do or say something for amusement rather than seriously.
  2. (intransitive, followed by with) To dupe in a friendly manner for amusement; to mess with, play with.
  3. To make merry with; to make jokes upon; to rally.
JOKING noun
  1. The act of telling or engaging in jokes.

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