Cryptic crossword clue
Old film idol needs a licence to play an unknown 3,4,2,4

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 4 plus 2 plus 4 letter word ICE COLD IN ALEX

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
I
C
E
C
O
L
D
I
N
A
L
E
X

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Old film" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case old film = ice cold in alex.
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.

Latest crossword clues with full explanations