Do better than most of Spain cross with church writer? (6)
I believe the answer is:
exceed
'do better' is the definition.
'exceed' can be an answer for 'better' (I've seen this before). I'm unsure of the 'do' bit.
'than most of spain cross with church writer?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'spain' could be 'e' (abbreviation for Espana) and 'e' is found in the answer.
'cross' could be 'x' (X is cross-shaped) and 'x' is located in the answer.
'church' could be 'ce' (abbreviation for Church of England) and 'ce' is found within the answer.
'writer?' could be 'ed' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'ed' is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for exceed that I've seen before include "Go beyond (a number)" , "Go beyond the prescribed limit" , "Overshoot or be more than" , "Go beyond - top" , "Do more than is warranted by" .)