The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word NEOPHOBIA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
N
E
O
P
H
O
B
I
A
More clues leading to the result NEOPHOBIA
- Mobile phone with charm and a reluctance to innovate?
- Fancy iPhone old boy kept boxed having a fear of novelty
- Fear of novelty mince pie on a hob
- Fear concerning the new style open cooking surface I advanced
- Dread of the new phone let loose old prejudice, mostly
- Pooh Bear in plastic, not right being on novelty watch?
- Dislike of the new mobile phone Tobias uncased
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "on novelty watch" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case on novelty watch = neophobia.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 NEOPHOBIA mean?
NEOPHOBIA noun- The fear or hatred of novelty, new things, innovation, or unfamiliar places or situations.