The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word ACRONYMS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
C
R
O
N
Y
M
S
More clues leading to the result ACRONYMS
- Scorn may upset NATO and suchlike
- An old friend — title and initials
- Words initially put together in a piece of writing about friend
- Malcontent may scorn Oxfam, Unicef etc
- Words composed of the first letters of the words in a phrase are initially awesome clue resources – occasionally, naively you mispell some
- Laser, taser, maser — a friend, how you would preface her!
- A friend on manuscript for POTUS, etc?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "initials" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case initials = acronyms.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 ACRONYMS mean?
ACRONYMS noun- An abbreviation formed by the initial letters of other words, sometimes exclusively such abbreviations when pronounced as a word (as "laser") rather than as individual letters (initialisms such as "TNT").
- An abbreviation formed by the beginning letters or syllables of other words (as "Benelux").
- To form into an acronym.