Cracks about clergyman meeting clowns (9)
I believe the answer is:
crevasses
'cracks' is the definition.
(I know this)
'about clergyman meeting clowns' is the wordplay.
'about' becomes 'c' (abbreviation for 'circa').
'clergyman' becomes 'rev' (I've seen this before).
'meeting' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'clowns' becomes 'asses' (both can mean foolish people).
'c'+'rev'+'asses'='CREVASSES'
(Other definitions for crevasses that I've seen before include "Deep fissures" , "plunging cleavages" .)