The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word SNOWMAN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
N
O
W
M
A
N
More clues leading to the result SNOWMAN
- Stony-eyed type with a nose for the horses?
- Winter figure, small currently, lots having been cut
- Currently arts graduate is engaged in tin representation of figure
- Son, grown up, a chilly figure
- Sherpas now mandated to carry a cold individual
- English artist’s wintry figure?
- The Yeti’s female, then, we hear?
- Seasonal figure giving present, first of many in hospital shortly
- Alfresco effigy which will self-destruct in spring?
- Winter creation initially scares dwarf. Ms. Landers to listen.
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "a chilly figure" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a chilly figure = snowman.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 SNOWMAN mean?
SNOWMAN noun- A humanoid figure made with large snowballs stacked on each other. Human traits like a face and arms may be fashioned with sticks (arms), a carrot (nose), and stones or coal (eyes, mouth).
- A score of eight, especially within one inning (in baseball) or on one hole (in golf, where it is also known as dogballs).
- A playing card with the rank of eight.
- An attractive but heartless man (similar to ice queen).