Cryptic crossword clue
Old relatives settled in North-Eastern heartlands 12

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word NEANDERTHALS

N
E
A
N
D
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Old relatives" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case old relatives = neanderthals.
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 NEANDERTHALS mean?

NEANDERTHALS noun
  1. A specimen of the now extinct species Homo neanderthalensis.
  2. A primitive person.

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