Cryptic crossword clue
American idiots close to losing, breaking one or two rackets? 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word DINGBATS

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "American idiots" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case american idiots = dingbats.
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 DINGBATS mean?

DINGBATS noun
  1. A silly, crazy or stupid person.
  2. A special ornamental typographical symbol, such as a bullet, an arrow, a pointing hand etc.
  3. An architectural style of apartment building, where the second storey overhangs an area for parking cars.
  4. A kind of word puzzle involving pictures or typography that hint at the solution.
  5. Anything that can be thrown or swung with force against something else.
  6. A small device or gadget, the correct term for which is forgotten or unknown.

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