The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word SHOVEL
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
H
O
V
E
L
More clues leading to the result SHOVEL
- One used in digs: small, mean dwelling
- Scoop! Liberal gets push first
- Scoop small and humble dwelling
- Implement obtained from second squalid home
- Shift small squalid dwelling
- Barge with large spade
- Second home of modest form, such as stoker uses
- Southern resort, beside Lake, has something to shift sand, perhaps
- Sun approaches seedy house to dig the dirt?
- Tool given push, then left
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Shift" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case shift = shovel.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 SHOVEL mean?
SHOVEL noun- A hand tool with a handle, used for moving portions of material such as earth, snow, and grain from one place to another, with some forms also used for digging. Not to be confused with a spade, which is designed solely for small-scale digging and incidental tasks such as chopping of small roots.
- A spade.
- To move materials with a shovel.
- To move with a shoveling motion.