The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word OATES
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
O
A
T
E
S
More clues leading to the result OATES
- Ring a determined, revolutionary plotter
- Explorer gives address, forgetting first letter of road
- Grass is overheard identifying conspirator
- Say, Titus Andronicus losing heart, toe crushed
- Old perjurer gives address, not right
- Famous explorer ought to lead a group heading north
- Conspirator established a ring for revolution
- One in Antarctic fed on jumbo seals
- Looking over course, Taoism captivates explorer
- Tragic captain arranged a start to operation heading north
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "One (i.e. captain) associated with the Antarctic" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case one (i.e. captain) associated with the antarctic = oates.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.