The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word ALPHABETICAL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
L
P
H
A
B
E
T
I
C
A
L
More clues leading to the result ALPHABETICAL
- The order of chimps?
- Characters in chintz are in such order
- Order that's a bit cheap sadly, yet wholly absorbing
- Order, say, two lots of aluminium with cheap bit thrown in
- An order followed initially
- It could be a palpable hit with catholic, not priest in this order
- Excited at a cheap bill with a certain order
- Paella batch I stupidly ordered by letter
- Boy precedes girl; man, woman: it’s in order
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "The order of chimps" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case the order of chimps = alphabetical.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 ALPHABETICAL mean?
ALPHABETICAL adjective- Pertaining to, furnished with, or expressed by letters of the alphabet.
- According to the sequence of the letters of the alphabet.
- Literal