The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word ANTE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
N
T
E
More clues leading to the result ANTE
- Pay one old bill with nothing discounted
- Bet poet needs no introduction
- Poet relieved of diamonds getting payment in advance
- Bet repartee needs trimming
- Stake hot-head in Sicily raised
- Stake a new note
- Stake forming part of elephant enclosure
- Perhaps Queen Elizabeth’s initial stake
- Insect close to vegetable stake
- . Poet’s booted Democrat out before
Buddy explains!
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 ANTE mean?
ANTE noun- A price or cost, as in up the ante.
- In poker and other games, the contribution made by all players to the pot before dealing the cards.
- To pay the ante in poker. Often used as ante up.
- To make an investment in money, effort, or time before knowing one's chances.