The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 4 letter word DE SOTO
D
E
S
O
T
O
More clues leading to the result DE SOTO
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "old explorer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case old explorer = de soto.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.