The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word NOBLEMAN
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
N
O
B
L
E
M
A
N
More clues leading to the result NOBLEMAN
- Possibly count on rising bachelor needing lover once
- Shift blame on new fellow who’s 8
- Possibly count on return of good foreign lover
- Call left good Parisian looking up count maybe
- Peer‘s issue lacks PR article in the news
- Turning up piece from Madonna, Mel B only gets Prince?
- Aristocrat and toff leading motor race in France, failing to finish
- Aristocrat left with title elevated creating Lord
- Lord Muck initially in list supporting aristocrat
- VIP and old sweetheart making you peer
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "count maybe" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case count maybe = nobleman.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 NOBLEMAN mean?
NOBLEMAN noun- A peer; an aristocrat; ranks range from baron to king to emperor.