The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word GROUNDWORK
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
G
R
O
U
N
D
W
O
R
K
More clues leading to the result GROUNDWORK
- Preparation of pavement art?
- Preparation of crushed ginger’s last to go into pot for cooking
- Labour crushed on the left, as preliminary task
- Good circular pan covers beginning to require basic preparation
- Preparation requiring land and labour
- Preliminary task has gone through the mill without extreme risk
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "preliminary task" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case preliminary task = groundwork.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 GROUNDWORK mean?
GROUNDWORK noun- The foundation; the basic or fundamental parts that support or allow for the rest.