Cryptic crossword clue
Just prior to speech, Mark holds butterfly upside down? 8,5

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 5 letter word INVERTED COMMA

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
I
N
V
E
R
T
E
D
C
O
M
M
A

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Just prior to speech, Mark" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case just prior to speech, mark = inverted comma.
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