Cryptic crossword clue
Used — and ate — nuts lightly fried 7

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word SAUTEED

I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "lightly fried" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case lightly fried = sauteed.
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 SAUTEED mean?

SAUTEED verb
  1. To cook (food) using a small amount of fat in an open pan over a relatively high heat, allowing the food to brown and form a crust stopping it from sticking to the pan as it cooks.

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