The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 2 plus 2 plus 7 letter word COME UP TO SCRATCH
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
C
O
M
E
U
P
T
O
S
C
R
A
T
C
H
More clues leading to the result COME UP TO SCRATCH
- Do OK but appear to withdraw?
- What itchy divers do to satisfy requirements
- What an irritated diver must do to make the grade?
- Do use fingernails when on surface?
- Equal score and make the grade
- What a diver with eczema might do to make the grade
- Qualify with equal score?
- What diver with skin rash may do to meet required standards
- Rise in order to score — and hit the mark?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "hit the mark?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case hit the mark? = come up to scratch.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.