Cryptic crossword clue
With advantage finally evaporating, finish becomes tense 10

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word PLUPERFECT

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
P
L
U
P
E
R
F
E
C
T

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "tense" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case tense = pluperfect.
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 PLUPERFECT mean?

PLUPERFECT adjective
  1. Being a generalization of a perfect number. For a given natural number k, a number n is called k-perfect (or k-fold perfect) iff the sum of all positive divisors of n (the divisor function, σ(n)) is equal to kn.
PLUPERFECT noun
  1. The pluperfect tense.
  2. A verb in this tense.
PLUPERFECT adjective
  1. More than perfect.
  2. (grammar) Pertaining to action completed before or at the same time as another.
  3. Relating to a certain type of graph, complying with the theorem (pluperfect graph theorem) discovered by D. R. Fulkerson in 1970.
  4. Used as an intensifier in various interjections.

Latest crossword clues with full explanations