Cryptic crossword clue
Wanting Polish thug to fear whatever’s outside 5,3,5

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 3 plus 5 letter word ROUGH AND READY

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
R
O
U
G
H
A
N
D
R
E
A
D
Y

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Wanting Polish" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case wanting polish = rough and ready.
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 ROUGH AND READY mean?

ROUGH AND READY adjective
  1. (often hyphenated when placed immediately before the modified noun) Crude or unpolished, but still fit for use; good enough.

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