The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word ROTA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
R
O
T
A
More clues leading to the result ROTA
- Musical canon’s duty list
- . Comedian I overlooked is appearing on a list
- Rubbish a job listing
- God seen as inspiring part of scripture for canon
- Piffle on a list
- Register of tasks allocated, primarily?
- Schedule time and relaxation — otherwise heads roll!
- List of Biblical books held by academy
- Retired thespian ignoring head of casting’s staffing schedule
- Work schedule in bistro, taxing
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "staffing schedule" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case staffing schedule = rota.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 ROTA mean?
ROTA noun- A schedule that allocates some task, responsibility or (rarely) privilege between a set of people according to a (possibly periodic) calendar.
- A kind of zither, played like a guitar, used in the Middle Ages in church music.