The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word ORTHODOXY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
O
R
T
H
O
D
O
X
Y
More clues leading to the result ORTHODOXY
- Conventional theory or empty theory about carrier shouldered by strong worker
- Oscar and Dorothy struggling to embrace unknown doctrine
- Accepted view of forerunner of Seventies Music contains the odd loose ends
- 40 naked prostitutes, which is anything but 4
- Fancy Dorothy scoffing beef as standard practice!
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "doctrine" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case doctrine = orthodoxy.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 ORTHODOXY mean?
ORTHODOXY noun- Correctness in doctrine and belief.
- Conformity to established and accepted beliefs (usually of religions).