The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word HELM
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
H
E
L
M
More clues leading to the result HELM
- Hard wood needed for steering apparatus
- Hours with the Spanish male tiller
- Hard wood, protection for nut once
- Steer back of coach onto 15
- Steering apparatus in hard wood
- Hard wood to control
- Direct empty hearse over fifty miles
- Hard wood used for steering wheel
- Direct line seized by attention-seeker
- Split seen in hardwood steering mechanism
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Steering apparatus" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case steering apparatus = helm.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 HELM mean?
HELM noun- The steering apparatus of a ship, especially the tiller or wheel.
- (maritime) The member of the crew in charge of steering the boat.
- A position of leadership or control.
- One at the place of direction or control; a guide; a director.
- A helve.
- To be a helmsman or a member of the helm; to be in charge of steering the boat.
- (by extension) To lead (a project, etc.).
- A helmet.
- A helmet.
- A heavy cloud lying on the brow of a mountain.
- The stems of various cultivated plants, left after harvesting the crop to be used as animal litter or for thatching.
- An individual plant stem.
- Part of a harness; a hame.