The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 letter word TAR
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
T
A
R
More clues leading to the result TAR
- Seaman army commander finally identifies
- Sailor from Costa Rica
- Small lake with no place for new sailor
- Seaman's celebrity son omitted
- Sailor's expression of gratitude, reaching harbour at last
- Jack cheers Romeo
- Sailor gets deserter brought back
- Sailor putting scoundrel up
- Sailor pinching prostitute’s bottom
- Sailor leaves dessert unfinished
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Seaman" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case seaman = tar.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 TAR mean?
TAR noun- (usually uncountable) A black, oily, sticky, viscous substance, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons derived from organic materials such as wood, peat, or coal.
- Coal tar.
- A solid residual byproduct of tobacco smoke.
- A sailor, because of the traditional tarpaulin clothes.
- Black tar, a form of heroin.
- To coat with tar.
- To besmirch.
- A program for archiving files, common on Unix systems.
- A file produced by such a program.
- To create a tar archive.
- A Persian long-necked, waisted instrument, shared by many cultures and countries in the Middle East and the Caucasus.
- A single-headed round frame drum originating in North Africa and the Middle East.