The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word PYGMALION
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
P
Y
G
M
A
L
I
O
N
More clues leading to the result PYGMALION
- Mythological sculptor producing a sign after less than minute
- Play golf with Olympian, getting thrashed
- Diminutive cat not unknown around a play
- Greek king, insignificant person, almost a hero
- Tiny tailless cat after a play
- Millions go in and play, play, play
- Mythical king lay moping around
- Play goalie in Olympian novel
- Play country in Africa — no trouble over touring
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Play" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case play = pygmalion.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.