The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 3 plus 5 letter word CLEAR THE DECKS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
C
L
E
A
R
T
H
E
D
E
C
K
S
More clues leading to the result CLEAR THE DECKS
- Put the cards away and get ready for action
- Nasty secret led hack to prepare for action
- Prepare for action keel scratched at sea
- Gain on the cards and get ready for action
- Prepare for action — so that a form of quoits can be played?
- Declares ketch must be renovated to get ready for action
- What one might do at the end of card games to prepare for action?
- Prepare for action decided by editor in rough sketch
- Prepare for action — tidy up after card game?
- Empty the American packs ready for action
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "prepare for action" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case prepare for action = clear the decks.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.