The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 6 letter word HOT POTATO
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
H
O
T
P
O
T
A
T
O
More clues leading to the result HOT POTATO
- Stew over author regularly in a difficult situation
- Stew over author regularly seeing controversial problem
- Awkward situation, tho’ resolved by King Edward?
- Stew at last in bistro? A controversial matter
- Northern delicacy, to include a thing no-one wants
- Awkward matter with sexy Charlotte?
- Awkward matter of stolen drugs Castro oddly ignored
- Recipe author dodging every second problem
- Problem, one baking in jacket?
- Weekend warriors in a stew over controversial issue
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "controversial topic" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case controversial topic = hot potato.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.