The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word VIRILE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
V
I
R
I
L
E
More clues leading to the result VIRILE
- Forceful and disagreeable when imprisoning taxmen once
- Lusty sextet cause annoyance
- Disgusting caressing skin of improper male
- Single redhead embraced by unsavoury male
- Male’s disgusting embracing single redhead
- Potent sextet cause annoyance
- Potent anger with one very upset at the outset
- David’s missing father, Harry is strong
- Muscular hands pinning one in fight
- Six agitate like he-men
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Potent" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case potent = virile.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 VIRILE mean?
VIRILE adjective- Being manly; having characteristics associated with being male, such as strength; exhibiting masculine traits to an exaggerated degree such as strength, forcefulness or vigor.
- (of a male) Possessing high sexual drive and capacity for sexual intercourse.
- (grammar) Pertaining to a grammatical gender used in plurals of some Slavic languages, corresponding to the personal masculine animate nouns.