The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word UNLOVELY
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
U
N
L
O
V
E
L
Y
More clues leading to the result UNLOVELY
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "not much to look at" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case not much to look at = unlovely.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 UNLOVELY mean?
UNLOVELY adjective- Unattractive, ugly