The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word AMPHITHEATRE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
M
P
H
I
T
H
E
A
T
R
E
More clues leading to the result AMPHITHEATRE
- American member knocked by anger about arena
- Place of combat where a politician punched, intensity of feeling concerning
- Preheat ham, processed, and put it in bowl
- Met the pariah upset in the Coliseum, for example
- Guitar gear smashed with passion about arena
- Current lease covers article at gallery
- Essentially shady politician thrashed with fervour by soldiers in stadium
- Arena in the area set to accommodate state strike
- Mixed ham with tripe to cover articles in bowl
- Dramas here are besetting politician struck by passion
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Place of combat" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case place of combat = amphitheatre.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 AMPHITHEATRE mean?
AMPHITHEATRE noun- An open, outdoor theatre (which may be a theatre in the round, or have a stage with seating on only one side), especially one from the classical period of ancient Greece or Rome, or a modern venue of similar design.
- A natural formation of a similar shape, where a steep mountain or slope a particular rock formation forms a partial or compete bowl, especially one used as a performance space (and possibly modified by carving out seats, etc) because the slopes naturally amplify or echo sound.