The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word TEST TUBES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
T
E
S
T
T
U
B
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S
More clues leading to the result TEST TUBES
- Lab equipment containers tossed into river
- Conceivable locations since the 1970s?
- Underground in trials with experimental equipment
- Lab equipment twice set back without objection on reflection
- Bath covered with balls and glass cylinders
- Experimental equipment ends up in English river
- Trials about a form of transport for containers in the lab
- Two groups harbour a doubt over some lab equipment
- Tsetse flies, however comes back in lab equipment
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Lab equipment" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case lab equipment = test tubes.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.