The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SURGICAL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
U
R
G
I
C
A
L
More clues leading to the result SURGICAL
- Operative relocating us, a girl needing Charlie to fill in
- Incisive and largely reliable soldier about 50
- Kind of operation on French soldier’s lower leg, mostly
- American revolutionary chewed garlic? Such spirit!
- Precise in theatre?
- Precise as a well-rehearsed move in theatre?
- American revolutionary with chewed cigar left such spirit
- Lecturer rolling cigar gets you and me up, to be precise
- American comes up with crushed garlic for medical use
- Spirit of the theatre?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Operative" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case operative = surgical.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 SURGICAL mean?
SURGICAL adjective- Of, relating to, used in, or resulting from surgery.
- Precise or very accurate.