The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SCATHING
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
C
A
T
H
I
N
G
More clues leading to the result SCATHING
- Bitter woman coming in to do a song
- Cutting Bill’s inverted whatsit
- Bill’s back after second affair? That’s hurtful
- Very critical of scab briefly taking night shift
- Cold, as night unfortunately closes in — bitter
- Very critical about supporting son, and object
- Namely, object about note that’s extremely critical
- Sarcastic? Extremely so, it's a fixation
- Scornful of Bill’s turned back doodah
- Sharply critical fraud article written for money
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Bitter" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case bitter = scathing.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 SCATHING mean?
SCATHING verb- To injure or harm.
- To blast; scorch; wither.
- Harshly or bitterly critical; vitriolic
- Harmful or painful; acerbic