The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word NAMES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
N
A
M
E
S
More clues leading to the result NAMES
- Same novel under new titles
- Labels men as fickle
- Members of Lloyd’s having irregular means
- S means Sheila, Sue etc
- This person in hospital sent up labels
- Famous people: Newton and Watt, say, but not Jack
- Heroes of horsemanship recalled
- Chap returned with drugs for celebrities
- Possible means for identification
- Identifies celebrities
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "labels" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case labels = names.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 NAMES mean?
NAMES noun- Any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing.
- Reputation.
- An abusive or insulting epithet.
- A person (or legal person).
- Those of a certain name; a race; a family.
- A unique identifier, generally a string of characters.
- An investor in Lloyds of London bearing unlimited liability.
- Authority.
- (ditransitive) To give a name to.
- To mention, specify.
- To identify as relevant or important
- To publicly implicate.
- To designate for a role.
- (Westminster system politics) To initiate a process to temporarily remove a member of parliament who is breaking the rules of conduct.
- Any of several types of true yam (Dioscorea) used in Caribbean Spanish cooking.