The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 2 letter word QUIDS IN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
Q
U
I
D
S
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N
More clues leading to the result QUIDS IN
- What of Caesar, breaking laws and profiting?
- One crime investigator’s probing first question likely to reap rewards
- Laughing all the way to the bank, one out of five carries passport and driving licence?
- Showing a profit from tobacco? Wrong
- Daughter wrong on question one — sitting pretty!
- What reprobates do after some tobacco’s in pocket
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "profiting" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case profiting = quids in.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.