The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 3 letter word STAND PAT
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
T
A
N
D
P
A
T
More clues leading to the result STAND PAT
- Stick to your guns in casino after vacation spent with Father Time
- Hold out what’s needed for Saint Patrick briefly?
- Suffer gentle slap but refuse to change
- Keep cards in rack each year close to Lent
- Keep cards close to chest after experience with the old man
- Put up with mild blow and hold one’s ground
- To refuse to abandon established dogma is suggestive of Saint Patrick?
- Tolerate light touch and don’t budge
- Irish patron bounding along with stick
- Do nothing in addition to occupying Irish hero, briefly
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Stick to your guns in casino" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case stick to your guns in casino = stand pat.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.