The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word ENVELOPES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
E
N
V
E
L
O
P
E
S
Buddy explains!
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 ENVELOPES mean?
ENVELOPES noun- A paper or cardboard wrapper used to enclose small, flat items, especially letters, for mailing.
- Something that envelops; a wrapping.
- A bag containing the lifting gas of a balloon or airship; fabric that encloses the gas-bags of an airship.
- A mathematical curve, surface, or higher-dimensional object that is the tangent to a given family of lines, curves, surfaces, or higher-dimensional objects.
- A curve that bounds another curve or set of curves, as the modulation envelope of an amplitude-modulated carrier wave in electronics.
- The shape of a sound, which may be controlled by a synthesizer or sampler.
- The information used for routing a message that is transmitted with the message but not part of its contents.
- An enclosing structure or cover, such as a membrane; a space between two membranes
- The set of limitations within which a technological system can perform safely and effectively.
- The nebulous covering of the head or nucleus of a comet; a coma.
- An earthwork in the form of a single parapet or a small rampart, sometimes raised in the ditch and sometimes beyond it.