The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word ABSENTEES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
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More clues leading to the result ABSENTEES
- Sailor told to go on return watch for missing persons
- Article about mad cow disease supports people away
- Those missing beats seen to get in a tangle
- Not so busy types told to go in a busy type’s place
- They’re not about to disturb a bees’ nest
- Missing persons
- Not so busy types told to go — a busy type’s coming round
- Sailor directed watch to go back for those missing
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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 ABSENTEES mean?
ABSENTEES noun- A person who is absent from his or her employment, school, post, duty, etc.
- A landholder who lives in another district or country than the one in which his estate is situated.
- One that is nonexistent or lacking.
- A voter that is not present at the time of voting; absentee voter.