The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word DENOTATION
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
D
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Buddy explains!
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 DENOTATION mean?
DENOTATION noun- The act of denoting, or something (such as a symbol) that denotes
- The primary, surface, literal, or explicit meaning of a signifier such as a word, phrase, or symbol; that which a word denotes, as contrasted with its connotation; the aggregate or set of objects of which a word may be predicated.
- The intension and extension of a word
- Something signified or referred to; a particular meaning of a symbol
- Any mathematical object which describes the meanings of expressions from the languages, formalized in the theory of denotational semantics
- (media studies) A first level of analysis: what the audience can visually see on a page. Denotation often refers to something literal, and avoids being a metaphor.