The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 6 plus 4 letter word MOCK TURTLE SOUP
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
M
O
C
K
T
U
R
T
L
E
S
O
U
P
More clues leading to the result MOCK TURTLE SOUP
- Poke fun at swimmer thus leading the course
- Ridicule rules put to cook; it’s not the real thing!
- Bogus reptile’s followed by press wanting juicy fodder
- Scoff awkward to rustle up for a first course, perhaps
- Make fun, or let us put out this on the menu
- Make fun of a reptile in an unfortunate situation with an imitation appetiser
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "a first course, perhaps" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a first course, perhaps = mock turtle soup.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.