The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word LOTI
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
L
O
T
I
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Naval officer and author" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case naval officer and author = loti.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 LOTI mean?
LOTI noun- A kind of aquatic plant, genus Nelumbo in the family Nelumbonaceae.
- A water lily, genus Nymphaea, especially those of Egypt or India.
- A legendary plant eaten by the Lotophagi of the Odyssey that caused drowsiness and euphoria.
- A number of other plants bearing lotus in their scientific or common names (see Derived terms below).
- An architectural motif of ancient Egyptian temples.
- The basic monetary unit of the currency of the Kingdom of Lesotho, introduced in 1980 to replace the South African rand as legal tender.
- A coin or banknote betokening a value in (ma)loti.