The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word IRONSIDE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
I
R
O
N
S
I
D
E
More clues leading to the result IRONSIDE
- Detective suffering derision from press team
- Very brave man in club team
- Man who’s determined to cultivate derision
- Puritan club team
- Supporter of Cromwell perhaps provoked derision
- TV detective‘s right to life?
- Senior DI’s beat cop in the 60’s
- TV detective, a former cavalryman
- d Puritan resistance quelled by one in fair position
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Very brave man" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case very brave man = ironside.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 IRONSIDE mean?
IRONSIDE noun- One who is very strong and courageous.