The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word PAVE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
P
A
V
E
More clues leading to the result PAVE
- Father, very exhausted initially, put down stones
- Put the top on quiet greeting
- Cover with solid pace, injecting velocity to avert century
- Pudding appearing very enticing initially, put on a stone or two?
- Provide surface for quiet avenue
- Sidewalk lip a vehicle conceals
- Put surface material on quiet avenue
- Put down stones and pick up wage – on this day the war ended
- Make way for pedestrians
- Provide hard surface for parking on short road with trees
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Put the top on" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case put the top on = pave.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 PAVE mean?
PAVE verb- To cover something with paving slabs.
- To cover with stone, concrete, blacktop or other solid covering, especially to aid travel.
- To pave the way for; to make easy and smooth.