The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word VARNISHED
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
V
A
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N
I
S
H
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D
More clues leading to the result VARNISHED
- Gone to collect windcheater, finally given a coat
- Polished his red van badly
- Went away round river with a coat on
- Removed from sight without rhyme or reason, initially? That’s glossed over
- Finished herb-covered starter off after just a small amount of vino
- Put a coat on and disappeared around the end of December
- Painted vehicle's roof that's rusted, with top peeling off
- Hired vans repaired and painted
- Left frames red-stained
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Polished" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case polished = varnished.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 VARNISHED mean?
VARNISHED verb- To apply varnish.
- To cover up with varnish.
- To gloss over a defect.
- Coated or decorated with varnish