The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word LIMBO
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
L
I
M
B
O
More clues leading to the result LIMBO
- Vehicle broken by butcher’s van in badly neglected state
- Where waiters are passing under bar?
- State of uncertainty with member gaining nothing
- Bishop in car somewhere en route to heavenly destination?
- State of oblivion of bishop in posh car
- Period of waiting in car without book
- Supposed repository of lost car, with black interior
- Output from auto industry keeps Britain in uncertain state
- Dance round on leg perhaps
- Dance in a state of oblivion
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "badly neglected state" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case badly neglected state = limbo.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 LIMBO mean?
LIMBO noun- (Roman Catholic theology, since circa 400 A.D.) The place where innocent souls exist temporarily until they can enter heaven, notably those of the saints who died before the advent of Christ (limbus patruum) and those of unbaptized but innocent children (limbus infantum).
- (by extension, since the 16th century) Any in-between place, state or condition of neglect or oblivion which results in an unresolved status, delay or deadlock.
- A dance played by taking turns crossing under a horizontal bar or stick. The stick is lowered with each round, and the game is won by the player who passes under the bar in the lowest position.
- To dance in this way.