The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word SPINE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
P
I
N
E
More clues leading to the result SPINE
- Leaders of strong parties, if necessary, exhibit backbone
- Crack heard every so often under small wooden sleeper in Victoria
- Needle from small tree
- Scary and upsetting, clutching awfully nice husband
- Yen and cents in old money? That's scary
- In old money, wood is scary
- Bottle first of port during function
- Special long needle
- Personal column?
- Thorn from small tree
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Needle" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case needle = spine.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 SPINE mean?
SPINE noun- The series of bones situated at the back from the head to the pelvis of a person, or from the head to the tail of an animal; backbone, vertebral column.
- Something resembling a backbone, such as a ridge, or a long, central structure from which other structures radiate.
- A pointed, fairly rigid protuberance or needle-like structure on an animal, shell, or plant.
- The heartwood of trees.
- Courage or assertiveness.
- The stiffness of an arrow.