The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 6 letter word SILLY SEASON
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
I
L
L
Y
S
E
A
S
O
N
More clues leading to the result SILLY SEASON
- Time for journo to joke in new essay about hurtful disciple
- When only Lassie’s broadcast?
- When journo jokes about rash age
- When not much happening, edge on nose, say, being reshaped
- When journo jokes about soft multitudes primarily
- Lightweight journalism delivered by one ass?
- Journalistic period thatcould be so sane
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "When not much happening" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case when not much happening = silly season.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.