Cryptic crossword clue
Only northern head retaining old books 6

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word NOBBUT

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
N
O
B
B
U
T

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "only (nothing but) northern" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case only (nothing but) northern = nobbut.
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 NOBBUT mean?

NOBBUT adverb
  1. (northern) nothing but; only; just

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