The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word TITULAR
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
T
I
T
U
L
A
R
More clues leading to the result TITULAR
- Emperor, short and fat, mostly as a figurehead
- It’s grabbed by ultra weird puppet?
- Honorary Tory leader implicated in kinky ritual
- Official brutality exposed and condemned
- Nominal time in strange ritual
- Pivotal bit of Christening ritual performed in name only
- Altruist hasn’t succeeded with a change in name
- Sailor holding it up looks initially like Hornblower?
- Tribal leader has changed ritual in name only
- The start of this strange ritual is nominal
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "like Hornblower?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case like hornblower? = titular.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 TITULAR mean?
TITULAR noun- One who holds a title.
- The person from whom a church takes its special name; distinguished from a patron, who must be canonized or an angel.
- Of, relating to, being, derived from, or having a title.
- Existing in name only; nominal.
- Named or referred to in the title.