The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word EMPHASES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
E
M
P
H
A
S
E
S
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "accents/accents" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case accents/accents = emphases.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 EMPHASES mean?
EMPHASES noun- Special weight or forcefulness given to something considered important.
- Special attention or prominence given to something.
- Prominence given to a syllable or words, by raising the voice or printing in italic or underlined type.
- The phonetic or phonological feature that distinguishes emphatic consonants from other consonants.
- The use of boldface.