Cryptic crossword clue
Sam beaten badly: a humiliation 9

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word ABASEMENT

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "humiliation" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case humiliation = abasement.
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 ABASEMENT mean?

ABASEMENT noun
  1. The act of abasing, humbling, or bringing low.
  2. The state of being abased or humbled; humiliation.

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