The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 plus 1 plus 4 letter word ONCE UPON A TIME
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
O
N
C
E
U
P
O
N
A
T
I
M
E
More clues leading to the result ONCE UPON A TIME
- Ace menu option, designed for a fairy tale start?
- Continue a poem in translation, the start of a tale
- Formerly working out with niece Pam after injury
- Start tale thus or continue a poem willy-nilly?
- How a childhood romance may start
- Story’s beginning when at university and punctual about answer
- Continue a poem that’s rewritten start of story
- How to start a childhood romance?
- Ritual opening of e-coupon I meant to be chucked
- Continue a poem translated years ago
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Start tale thus" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case start tale thus = once upon a time.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.