The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word EXIST
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
E
X
I
S
T
More clues leading to the result EXIST
- Be small, go outside
- Number in team half lost after capsizing, survive
- Are spades blocking door?
- Be a chauvinist, getting head bitten off
- Be no longer first
- With a final twist, goes out live
- Be biased against women perhaps not having sons
- Be coming in at six even when kept back
- Be discriminatory in absence of head
- Survive farewells when son moves west
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "survive" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case survive = exist.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 EXIST mean?
EXIST verb- (stative) to be; have existence; have being or reality