The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word ARCHITECTURE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
R
C
H
I
T
E
C
T
U
R
E
More clues leading to the result ARCHITECTURE
- Teach recruit badly, it's a fine art
- Piano work each recruit played, maintaining tempo
- Teach recruit new discipline requiring design skills
- Thrice curate in turn, a constructive way to make a living
- Teach recruit changes in style of building
- Teach recruit about design
- Style of building erect hair, cut unconventionally
- House-craft?
- Construction profession involving hectic travelling certainly taking away a little sleep
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "it's a fine art" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case it's a fine art = architecture.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 ARCHITECTURE mean?
ARCHITECTURE noun- The art and science of designing and managing the construction of buildings and other structures, particularly if they are well proportioned and decorated.
- The profession of an architect.
- Any particular style of building design.
- Construction, in a more general sense; frame or structure; workmanship.
- A unifying structure.
- A specific model of a microchip or CPU.
- The structure and design of a system or product.