The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word HORACE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
H
O
R
A
C
E
More clues leading to the result HORACE
- Rumpole’s one old poet, clownish chap wanting black juice
- Old poet in middle of school run
- Old poet to run at back of house
- Chorale may be translated from this odist, Latin
- Poet in hot competition to secure love
- Phwoar! Fancied on-and-off Latin lover
- Poet‘s inclusion of metaphor a certainty
- University out of time on brilliant poet
- Name for a house competition
- Poet reverses vehicle into garden
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Walpole, say" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case walpole, say = horace.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.