The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word MAINMAST
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
M
A
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N
M
A
S
T
More clues leading to the result MAINMAST
- Part of sailing vessel popular in mother’s time
- Graduate in his own time getting important post on board
- Pole shows renewed stamina after Marathon start
- Male with stamina rigged part of boat
- Pole of some importance sees mother given degree, having entered institute
- Over time, graduate in French dwelling-place produces part of superstructure
- Forest tree nuts behind the speaker's fur on the ketch pole
- Spar with graduates boxing in street
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "part of boat" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case part of boat = mainmast.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 MAINMAST mean?
MAINMAST noun- The chief, and tallest mast of a sailing ship that has more than one mast.