The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 8 letter word MODUS OPERANDI
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
M
O
D
U
S
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P
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A
N
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More clues leading to the result MODUS OPERANDI
- This method briefly doing for a medic?
- Duo promised an unusual way of working
- Service chiefswork with ruler and current procedure
- After motorway, turned up sideroad on the way to work
- Way to do things as Superman did, flying with two ducks
- Crushed, and imposed our way of working
- Method of working revealed by fishmonger, essentially
- A dim ponderous criminal’s usual method
- Process imposed around rocks
- Ponderous maid’s unusual way of doing things
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.