The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 3 plus 4 plus 2 plus 2 letter word ON THE FACE OF IT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
O
N
T
H
E
F
A
C
E
O
F
I
T
More clues leading to the result ON THE FACE OF IT
- Apparently where clock displays time?
- Where clock has hands, apparently
- At first glance, where are the chronometer’s hands?
- Where watch may display time, seemingly
- Brewed coffee ain’t hot, evidently
- Apparently where hands must work round the clock …
- One that office bungled, seemingly
- Apparently where trap is centrepiece in terrorist attack
- Apparently where a clock’s hands are located
- Where the clock’s hands are, as is palpably plain
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Where the clock’s hands are/palpably plain" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case where the clock’s hands are/palpably plain = on the face of it.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.