The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 plus 3 plus 5 letter word AGAINST THE GRAIN
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
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More clues leading to the result AGAINST THE GRAIN
- Contrary to most, grand dons hating showers?
- Unnatural profit, in a way, with vodka and beer?
- Some joiners saw this as out of character
- Haitian gangster moving unnaturally?
- Anti corn, perhaps, as contrary to one’s normal humour
- Perverse aversion to whisky
- Not in favour of whisky, say — contrary to expectations
- Once more straighten out how one could cut deal, perhaps
- Contrary to what is expected, unlikely to drink whisky?
- Not natural to be a whisky hater?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "how one could cut deal, perhaps" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case how one could cut deal, perhaps = against the grain.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.