The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word POLYMATH
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
P
O
L
Y
M
A
T
H
More clues leading to the result POLYMATH
- Expert way to cover half of Olympics
- Clever person in college once getting most of a subject
- My hot pal turned out to be a person of wide learning
- Pundit’s malty hop compound
- Frybatter amply hot
- 'Way to cover Olympics without taking pictures' — by a know-all
- Learned person in old college taking single subject
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "a person of wide learning" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a person of wide learning = polymath.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 POLYMATH mean?
POLYMATH noun- A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.