The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word JAIL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
J
A
I
L
More clues leading to the result JAIL
- Nick is to feel unwell on January the first
- Jack has trouble getting cooler
- Litre spilt by Jack’s companion carrying a can
- Stir trouble on 1st of January
- In Paris, I’ve left prison
- Judge’s sitting with trouble in Parkhurst?
- Can be sickly after onset of jaundice
- Jack has trouble with pen
- Imprison the Italian after German agreement
- Jack has trouble having a stretch here?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Stir" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case stir = jail.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 JAIL mean?
JAIL noun- A place or institution for the confinement of persons held in lawful custody or detention, especially for minor offenses or with reference to some future judicial proceeding.
- Confinement in a jail.
- The condition created by the requirement that a horse claimed in a claiming race not be run at another track for some period of time (usually 30 days).
- In dodgeball and related games, the area where players who have been struck by the ball are confined.
- (FreeBSD) A kind of sandbox for running a guest operating system instance.
- To imprison.