The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ARTISTS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
A
R
T
I
S
T
S
More clues leading to the result ARTISTS
- Painters in dire straits
- Dire Straits appearing in Cairo, Lichtenstein and Monaco, among others
- Maybe there’s still life in what they do
- Painters in dire straits?
- Dire Straits are recording ones
- Starts renovating, involving island’s painters
- Rock stars holding note — they need skill
- Dire Straits would be recording ones
- Those engaging posers?
- Creative people from Dire Straits
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "painters" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case painters = artists.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 ARTISTS mean?
ARTISTS noun- A person who creates art.
- A person who is skilled at some activity.
- A recording artist.