The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word LAMENTABLE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
L
A
M
E
N
T
A
B
L
E
More clues leading to the result LAMENTABLE
- The French people submit – it’s awful
- Meal arranged on new piece of furniture is terrible
- Awful ballet with name cast
- Weak new piece of furniture, very bad
- Noodle soup starter changing hands — food supplied is awful
- Sorry, but left the last word with board
- Blame talent — not fulfilled — for production being pitifully bad
- Awful food given to the French servants
- Feeble new board — disastrous
- Unfortunate weak book expert
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "awful" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case awful = lamentable.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 LAMENTABLE mean?
LAMENTABLE adjective- Causing sorrow, distress or regret; deplorable, pitiful or distressing.