The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word ETON
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
E
T
O
N
More clues leading to the result ETON
- School prize went to son, finally
- No half-term upset in school
- On reflection, possibly a high-class school
- 24 possibly heading back for school
- School polished off broadcast
- Public school to see going west
- School memo written in a quasi-Arabic style
- Piece of music written up for school
- College record elevated
- School memo written up
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Kind of mess" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case kind of mess = eton.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.