The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word SLEUTH
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
L
E
U
T
H
More clues leading to the result SLEUTH
- Direction: the French must replace old Maigret?
- One investigates broken lute in case of Sherlock Holmes initially
- Detective left in the US in exchange
- Awkwardly hustle Holmes for one
- Floozie hot about introduction to Endeavour Morse, perhaps
- Detective’s dodgy 8
- Hustle danced in Marple, maybe
- Solver taking nothing from point about foreign article
- Sherlock‘s lute playing breaks silence
- Begins speaking, letting everyone understand the house detective
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Sherlock" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case sherlock = sleuth.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 SLEUTH mean?
SLEUTH noun- A detective.
- A sleuth-hound; a bloodhound.
- An animal’s trail or track.
- To act as a detective; to try to discover who committed a crime, or, more generally, to solve a mystery.
- Slowness; laziness, sloth.
- A collective term for a group of bears.