The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word SLOG
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
S
L
O
G
More clues leading to the result SLOG
- Arduous job, initially, sawing wood
- To work herd, last of timber must be out on top
- When it’s missing leg, inclined to go for big hit
- Work away, almost leisurely, to get a lot of money
- Left halfway through really good work
- Spell of hard work finally produces record
- Stroke requiring strenuous effort...
- Second record – hard work
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Spell of hard work" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case spell of hard work = slog.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 SLOG mean?
SLOG noun- A long, tedious walk, or session of work.
- An aggressive shot played with little skill.
- To walk slowly, encountering resistance.
- (by extension) To work slowly and deliberately at a tedious task.
- To strike something with a heavy blow, especially a ball with a bat.