The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word SUBTEXT
S
U
B
T
E
X
T
Buddy explains!

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 SUBTEXT mean?
SUBTEXT noun- (authorship) The implicit meaning of a text, often a literary one, or a speech or dialogue.