The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word OCCAM
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
O
C
C
A
M
More clues leading to the result OCCAM
- Periodically, Joyce charms friar with razor
- Senior officer taking academic stream in philosopher William’s place
- Man with razor company’s over, affected after onset of pound’s falling
- Computer company rejected man associated with razor
- Eccentric commander taking lead in William's place?
- Clutching a small volume, chairman turns philosopher
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "philosopher William’s place" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case philosopher william’s place = occam.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.