The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 4 letter word CUBIC INCH
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
C
U
B
I
C
I
N
C
H
Buddy explains!
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.