The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 2 plus 2 letter word RUBS IT IN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
R
U
B
S
I
T
I
N
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Keeps emphasising/how one applies liniment" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case keeps emphasising/how one applies liniment = rubs it in.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.