The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word SOUL MATE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
O
U
L
M
A
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E
More clues leading to the result SOUL MATE
- Bully almost used, oddly, to be the perfect friend?
- Well crafted amulet for one who’s uniquely close
- One who’s very close to us males, mostly moving
- China in Korea, say — one’s ideal partner?
- Person with whom to arrange meals out?
- Single reported defeat for alter ego
- Very special amulet for lover
- Various meals out with close buddy
- Same lout disrupted partner?
- Close friend — solitary, it’s said, facing position of defeat
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "the perfect friend" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case the perfect friend = soul mate.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.