The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 1 plus 4 letter word AT A LOSS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
A
T
A
L
O
S
S
More clues leading to the result AT A LOSS
- Atlas so useless, leaving one perplexed
- Helpless cheers following a defeat
- Thrown in debt
- Baffled by sensational wordplay with nine letters missing
- Stuck to salsa dancing
- Bewildered by how a bankrupt business was run
- A voluntary group see ship in confusion
- A project in which a learner appears perplexed
- Uncertain what to do, with income less than outlay?
- Floored a jerk landing a left
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Uncertain what to do/with income less than outlay" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case uncertain what to do/with income less than outlay = at a loss.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.