The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word RESIN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
R
E
S
I
N
More clues leading to the result RESIN
- What repeat offender may do for secreted substance
- Adhesive substance son squeezed into part of tack
- Commit an offence again? That could be sticky!
- Rinse out something sticky
- Plant secretion extremely rare? Wrong
- Rinse strange sticky substance
- Material from centres, industrial
- Rinse off sticky stuff
- Synthetic substance: check involves smell, primarily
- Err again perhaps to get frankincense or myrrh?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "sticky substance" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case sticky substance = resin.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 RESIN mean?
RESIN noun- A viscous hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees.
- Any of various yellowish viscous liquids or soft solids of plant origin; used in lacquers, varnishes and many other applications; chemically they are mostly hydrocarbons, often polycyclic.
- Any synthetic compound of similar properties.
- To apply resin to.