Cryptic crossword clue
Abuse of whisky to gobble up 20% of money through regular payment 12

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word MALTREATMENT

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
M
A
L
T
R
E
A
T
M
E
N
T

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Abuse" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case abuse = maltreatment.
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 MALTREATMENT mean?

MALTREATMENT noun
  1. Cruel or harmful treatment or abuse; mistreatment.

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