The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word ENSCONCE
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
E
N
S
C
O
N
C
E
More clues leading to the result ENSCONCE
- Settle in amongst citizens, conceivably
- Settle Beethoven’s concerto? Not entirely
- Settle down during children’s concert
- Hide in 25 concealed
- Hide, safely concealed at first, in a palace on the outskirts of Essen
- Install Conservative, in moving scene
- Settle comfortably seeing prisoner in scene developing
- Escape as soon as knight enters lodge
- Settle two opponents at table? Fine!
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Settle in" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case settle in = ensconce.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 ENSCONCE mean?
ENSCONCE verb- To place in a secure environment.
- To settle comfortably.