The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word PELICAN
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
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More clues leading to the result PELICAN
- Fish-eating bird? Left one tucking into nut
- Bird, large one in nut tree
- Nut circling lake with one waterfowl
- Water-bird, lake one, tucking into nut
- Big bird left one clutching nut? On the contrary
- One with a large bill gets the Spanish into a dreadful panic
- Bird, large one, cracking nut
- Bird in tree eating large insect’s head
- Bird chewing a pencil
- Bird — large one found in typical American pie
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Water-bird" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case water-bird = pelican.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 PELICAN mean?
PELICAN noun- Any of various seabirds of the family Pelecanidae, having a long bill with a distendable pouch.
- A native or resident of the American state of Louisiana.
- A retort or still having a curved tube or tubes leading back from the head to the body for continuous condensation and redistillation.
- A set of forceps used to force overcrowded teeth apart.