The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word LAST DITCH
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
L
A
S
T
D
I
T
C
H
More clues leading to the result LAST DITCH
- Survive desert, a place of desperation
- Carry on with abandon — resistance ends here
- Desperate abandoned child sat clutching toy at the outset
- Go on to abandon final
- Where to make a final stand in trench warfare?
- Dying to exist with abandon
- Place to finally fight terminal depression
- The French suture around beginning of duodenum in eleventh hour
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "a place of desperation" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a place of desperation = last ditch.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 LAST DITCH mean?
LAST DITCH adjective- Final, as a last resort; done in desperation.