The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word POINTLESS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
P
O
I
N
T
L
E
S
S
More clues leading to the result POINTLESS
- Futile, to be blunt?
- A waste of time to go out, so slept in!
- Don’t be so accusative, it’s futile
- No marijuana going round at home, futile
- Fellow looking into aims of TV quiz show
- Request to reduce gesturing in TV quiz show
- It’s not worth doing, to be blunt
- What blunt instrument is serving no purpose?
- Ineffectual, like a team that always loses?
- Lacking purpose, so slept around, ringing home
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Lacking purpose/unable to score" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case lacking purpose/unable to score = pointless.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 POINTLESS mean?
POINTLESS adjective- Having no point or sharp tip; terminating squarely or in a rounded end.
- Having no prominent or important feature, as of an argument, discourse, etc.
- Having no purpose; purposeless; unable to effect an aim.
- Without points.