The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 plus 3 plus 2 letter word HOLD YOUR END UP
H
O
L
D
Y
O
U
R
E
N
D
U
P
Buddy explains!
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.