The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 letter word EEL
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
E
E
L
More clues leading to the result EEL
- Fish skin, but no head
- Slippery customer starts to explain: evident lies
- Henry with this devious devil would be one to let down
- Three lakes containing fish
- Fish tails in the rice bowl
- Fish in sheltered marine area turning up
- Fancy avoiding start that's slippery
- Ninety ducks do better than fish
- One devious rogue in Brick Lane Market?
- Slippery character getting in somewhere else
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "(subtractive) double defn?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case (subtractive) double defn? = eel.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 EEL mean?
EEL noun- Any freshwater or marine fish of the order Anguilliformes, which are elongated and resemble snakes.
- The European eel, Anguilla anguilla.
- To fish for eels.
- To move with a sinuous motion like that of an eel.