The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word THIEVES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
T
H
I
E
V
E
S
More clues leading to the result THIEVES
- Criminals which I am holding, including the First Lady
- They nicked this, having come round the night before
- Time to go to busy places to catch European criminals
- … steals the article mentioned about first lady
- Magpies nested late today
- They steal this, having cased day before
- Thick fellows, endlessly calm during this
- First woman to be caught by this group of criminals?
- First female to get into this bunch of crooks
- Proverbially thickset
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "criminals" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case criminals = thieves.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 THIEVES mean?
THIEVES noun- One who carries out a theft.
- One who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or violence.
- A waster in the snuff of a candle.
- To commit theft.