The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 3 plus 7 letter word CUT THE MUSTARD
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
C
U
T
T
H
E
M
U
S
T
A
R
D
More clues leading to the result CUT THE MUSTARD
- Do well to dispense with a certain condiment
- Do — but with less relish?
- Do a “not so hot” dog please!
- Nick’s traditional enemies bother showing up to do the job
- Spooner’s dog with the sauce to come up to scratch?
- Trust date chum arranged came up to expectations
- A chum strutted about to make a good impression
- Order Dutch treats, accepting Man Utd originally make the grade
- Come up to standard, being much trusted at planning
- Order Dutch treats, accepting half of mums make the grade
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "make the grade" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case make the grade = cut the mustard.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.