The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word ERRED
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
E
R
R
E
D
More clues leading to the result ERRED
- Wild deer on both sides of river went astray
- King in grip of old injury returning went off the rails
- Reader performing without acting made a mistake
- Hesitantly stated a colour and was wrong
- Going west in glider really was wrong
- Sinned a little, altogether redeemable
- Tory patrician in the East End, we hear, made a bloomer
- Transgressed with Queen of hearts or diamonds
- Socialist supporting Queen is messed up
- Under redirection some of those letters went astray
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "messed up" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case messed up = erred.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 ERRED mean?
ERRED verb- To make a mistake.
- To sin.
- To stray.
- To utter the word "er" when hesitating in speech, found in the phrase um and er.