The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word MEANNESS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
M
E
A
N
N
E
S
S
More clues leading to the result MEANNESS
- Sordid property chap’s seen around English headland
- Not behaviour of the kind queen found in disorderly state
- Parsimony of girl in canteen
- … who shows this, putting girl into disarray
- Despicable behaviour showing girl’s in confusion
- Spite lands girl in trouble
- Sticky situation, admitting British queen’s cruelty
- Parsimony has got queen into trouble
- Caught in muddle, Elizabeth I's mother displays malice
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Parsimony" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case parsimony = meanness.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 MEANNESS mean?
MEANNESS noun- The condition, or quality, of being mean (any of its definitions)
- A mean act.