The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word AGRICOLA
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
A
G
R
I
C
O
L
A
More clues leading to the result AGRICOLA
- Old Roman general from Riga mixed drink
- Ancient general from Indian city taking one for a drink
- Roman has drink with Greek in perfect setting
- Current viral complaint contracted in an Indian city, in general
- A king has one coal supply in 19
- Male leaving a horrible drink for Roman statesman
- General passages written up inspired by Indian city?
- Indian city hosting one colonel and a general
- General once overturned places in Indian city
- One entertained by a Greek colonel and a Roman general
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Roman statesman" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case roman statesman = agricola.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.