The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word CHILDHOOD
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
C
H
I
L
D
H
O
O
D
More clues leading to the result CHILDHOOD
- Nearly cool down criminal minority
- Term for minors?
- Youth clubs kept secret about large violent criminal
- Peter Pan’s ongoing period role in Bugsy Malone?
- Youth‘s twisted hooch lid, beginning to drink
- Youth clubs kept secret about large hooligan
- Greek character's extremely limited cover for early years
- Daughter wearing cool, short bonnet in youth
- Best days for one in minority?
- Once rebuked poet about Liberal’s early years
Buddy explains!
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.
Crossword Answer definitions
CHILDHOOD noun- The state of being a child.
- The time during which one is a child, from between infancy and puberty.
- (by extension) The early stages of development of something.