The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word FORMALITY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
F
O
R
M
A
L
I
T
Y
More clues leading to the result FORMALITY
- Touring African country, score twice for punctiliousness
- Number embracing country ceremony
- Ceremony in country during days of biblical fasting
- Figure touring country observed ceremony
- Rule in favour of one country? Totally heartless
- Fellow men burning to participate in say, merry month of ceremony
- Convention in country adopted by all thieves, literarily?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "ceremony" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case ceremony = formality.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 FORMALITY mean?
FORMALITY noun- The state of being formal.
- Something said or done as a matter of form.
- A customary ritual without new or unique meaning.
- (countable) A specific requirement for obtaining a legal status, conducting a transaction, etc.