The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word SALEM
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
A
L
E
M
More clues leading to the result SALEM
- Auction room's last place for witch trials!
- Where, in Massachusetts, engine driver needs stronger drink?
- Biblical town‘s beer comes in two sizes
- Trading event attracts million in Oregon location
- Deal twinned with medium US city
- City festivals coming up
- Men switching sides in a city of trials
- Broadcast which trials here? Thirteenth lot, perhaps
- Proposal emerged to ring-fence American capital
- Small teams alternately used in place of trials
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "place of trials" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case place of trials = salem.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.