Cryptic crossword clue
Making Mark proud of himself, impressing duke with drink 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SMUDGING

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Making Mark" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case making mark = smudging.
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 SMUDGING mean?

SMUDGING verb
  1. To obscure by blurring; to smear.
  2. To soil or smear with dirt.
  3. To use dense smoke to protect from insects.
  4. To stifle or smother with smoke.
  5. To burn herbs as a cleansing ritual (suffumigation).
  6. To subject to ritual burning of herbs (suffumigation, smudging).
SMUDGING noun
  1. The act of something being smudged.
  2. A stain or smear left by something being smudged.
  3. Suffumigation.

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