The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 1 plus 8 plus 4 letter word E PLURIBUS UNUM
E
P
L
U
R
I
B
U
S
U
N
U
M
More clues leading to the result E PLURIBUS UNUM
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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.