The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word SUNSPOT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
U
N
S
P
O
T
More clues leading to the result SUNSPOT
- Covers students’ union over black mark
- Paper's fund for something relatively dark
- Star mark for tropical resort?
- Cool solar area in holiday resort
- Newspaper facing difficult situation in a relatively dark situation
- Star’s cooler patch on a tropical beach?
- Newspaper notice that has astronomical consequences
- Tabloid’s monetary fund is something astronomical
- Crossword essentially puns, beginning to end – pointless, not a patch on our setter
- Star’s patch of tropical beach?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "something relatively dark" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case something relatively dark = sunspot.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 SUNSPOT mean?
SUNSPOT noun- A region on the sun's surface with a lower temperature than its surroundings and intense magnetic activity.