Cryptic crossword clue
Play pubs, not clubs, in holiday island 5,7

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 7 letter word MAJOR BARBARA

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
M
A
J
O
R
B
A
R
B
A
R
A

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 = major barbara.
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.

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