The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word STEP DOWN
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
S
T
E
P
D
O
W
N
More clues leading to the result STEP DOWN
- Rank reduced, so resign
- Resign from raising pets, not happy
- Retire from stage, depressed
- Resign from stage, depressed
- Resign, being unhappy at blue-eyed boy's return?
- Democratic favourites, overthrown, have quit
- Small department so upset with rivals at the table, resign
- Retire from stage suffering from depression?
- Withdraw from stage unhappy
- 13a
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Withdraw favourites experiencing setback and at a disadvantage (4,4)/Withdraw" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case withdraw favourites experiencing setback and at a disadvantage (4,4)/withdraw = step down.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 STEP DOWN mean?
STEP DOWN adjective- That decreases in stages
- (of a transformer etc) That reduces a voltage