The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word ILEX
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
I
L
E
X
More clues leading to the result ILEX
- Shrub identified by the Italian divorcee
- Holly sees priest returning to cross
- Tree oil extracted, not all of it
- Holly perhaps as one left with lover no longer
- Roman law pursues one prickly family
- Holly and relatives uniting current and classical law
- In France, he is with former wife Holly
- Cross priest put up holly
- Holly helping to make domicile Xmassy
- French island has unknown shrub with prickles
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Shrub" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case shrub = ilex.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 ILEX mean?
ILEX noun- Holm oak (Quercus ilex).
- Any of the numerous trees or shrubs of the genus Ilex.