The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 5 plus 3 plus 5 letter word BY TRIAL AND ERROR
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
B
Y
T
R
I
A
L
A
N
D
E
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More clues leading to the result BY TRIAL AND ERROR
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "is this a way to solve the problem?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case is this a way to solve the problem? = by trial and error.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.