The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ELAPSES
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
E
L
A
P
S
E
S
More clues leading to the result ELAPSES
- Passes one side of Horseshoe Falls
- Slips away from area and sleeps around
- Touring circuits, clock up passes
- Passes out: asleep and beginning to snore
- Passes European circuits with ease, oddly
- Stir as sleep passes
- Electronic errors, perhaps, in passes
- Runs out due to error in case of employees
- Slips by left-winger in England failures
- Passes electronic errors
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Passes" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case passes = elapses.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 ELAPSES mean?
ELAPSES verb- (of time) To pass or move by.