The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 1 plus 2 plus 4 letter word A LA MODE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
L
A
M
O
D
E
More clues leading to the result A LA MODE
- Mission accomplished finally, English up to date
- Fashionable place in Texas journalist wrote up
- The latest Bowie hit here finally – David Bowie
- Do a meal, possibly stewed with veg?
- A big hit, verse in card that’s popular
- A hit poem in the modern style
- A hit, something in verse that’s in fashion
- Old Duke wearing a fabric that’s fashionable
- Pieces ofAndrew Motion poetry becoming fashionable
- Leo and Adam done up in the latest fashion
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "up to date" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case up to date = a la mode.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.