The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word SLEEPER
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
S
L
E
E
P
E
R
More clues leading to the result SLEEPER
- Undercover agent?
- Coach line supporter
- One who has gone off in a railway carriage
- One inactive as supporter of the railway
- Agent is one out for the count
- Spy in railway compartment
- Slippery fish returning quietly with queen is secret agent
- Again peels back to reveal a spy
- Overnight train: it’s on the track
- Retiring salesman’s eating fish, a kipper
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "secret agent" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case secret agent = sleeper.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 SLEEPER mean?
SLEEPER noun- Someone who sleeps.
- That which lies dormant, as a law.
- A spy, saboteur, or terrorist who lives unobtrusively in a community until activated by a prearranged signal; may be part of a sleeper cell.
- A small starter earring, worn to prevent a piercing from closing.
- A railway sleeping car.
- A sleeper hold.
- Something that achieves unexpected success after an interval of time.
- A goby-like bottom-feeding freshwater fish of the family Odontobutidae.
- A nurse shark (family Ginglymostomatidae).
- A type of pajama for a person, especially a child, that covers the whole body, including the feet.
- An automobile which has been internally modified to excess, while retaining a mostly stock appearance in order to fool opponents in a drag race, or to avoid the attention of the police.
- A sedative.
- To mark a calf by cutting its ear.
- A railroad tie.
- A structural beam in a floor running perpendicular to both the joists beneath and floorboards above.
- A heavy floor timber in a ship's bottom.
- The lowest, or bottom, tier of casks.