The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word STARTLED
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
T
A
R
T
L
E
D
More clues leading to the result STARTLED
- Set off round lake, a little frightened
- Spooked, began to bury first of loot
- Alarmed, began to throttle first of louts
- Set off, went out in front, surprised
- Surprised to see pastry in transport
- Did rock celebrity ultimately meet all the crowd?
- Beginning to want electronic device, being scared
- Dawn light caused a shock
- Surprised the beginning came first
- Alarmed scrum leader was first after hooker
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "scared" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case scared = startled.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 STARTLED mean?
STARTLED verb- To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.
- To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise.
- To deter; to cause to deviate.
- Surprised and slightly frightened.
- Extremely shocked.