The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 13 letter word METAMORPHOSIS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
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More clues leading to the result METAMORPHOSIS
- Merchant at first devious has to promise to give change
- Revolutionary Amish promotes a complete change
- Crooked impostor has me for change
- Steamship and two ducks involved with Mr Toad’s transformation?
- Change of home port — miss a transformation
- Terrible ham promises to change
- Revolutionary Amish promotes complete change
- Shame impostor is wicked — complete conversion needed
- Complete change from reforming impostor — shame!
- Moor steamship, possibly for alteration
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "complete change" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case complete change = metamorphosis.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 METAMORPHOSIS mean?
METAMORPHOSIS noun- A transformation, such as one performed by magic.
- A noticeable change in character, appearance, function or condition.
- A change in the form and often habits of an animal after the embryonic stage during normal development. (e.g. the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly or a tadpole into a frog.)
- A change in the structure of a specific body tissue. Usually degenerative.