The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word NEWTON
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
N
E
W
T
O
N
More clues leading to the result NEWTON
- Sir Isaac’s novel tone curtailed
- English physicist from modern century?
- Scientist shows there's little weight in gas
- Executive toy used by scientist from birth?
- Huge load placed on modern physicist
- Modern, heavyweight physicist
- Scientist‘s recent quality falling short
- Possibly not a brilliant scientist?
- Modern leader of Tories speaking about early day motion specialist?
- Not conversant with name for a mathematician and physicist
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "famous physicist" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case famous physicist = newton.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 NEWTON mean?
NEWTON noun- In the International System of Units, the derived unit of force; the force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram by one metre per second per second. Symbol: N.