The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 letter word ION
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
I
O
N
More clues leading to the result ION
- Wild animal beheaded? One is charged
- Number one turns up — one cannot be neutral
- One’s charged right away from press
- Charged particle nothing to write home about
- Charge faced by Liberal makes him a hero
- One ahead something charged?
- Rugby players robbing banks — one’s charged
- Particle of metal first bit of rubbing removed
- Guillotine’s regular showing – it carries a small charge
- What current working involves?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "one cannot be neutral" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case one cannot be neutral = ion.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 ION mean?
ION noun- An atom or group of atoms bearing an electrical charge, such as the sodium and chlorine atoms in a salt solution.