Cryptic crossword clue
Animals close, apt to be nasty 8

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

I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
P
O
L
E
C
A
T
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Animals" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case animals = polecats.
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 POLECATS mean?

POLECATS noun
  1. A weasel-like animal of the genus Mustela.
  2. A skunk.
  3. A tubular device used to support lights on a set.

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