Cryptic crossword clue
Painting of dry French commmanding officer 5

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word SECCO

I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
S
E
C
C
O

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Painting" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case painting = secco.
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 SECCO mean?

SECCO noun
  1. A work painted on dry plaster, as distinguished from a fresco.
SECCO adjective
  1. Dry
  2. Dry – sparse accompaniment, staccato, without resonance

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