The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word HANNIBAL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
H
A
N
N
I
B
A
L
More clues leading to the result HANNIBAL
- Carthaginian leader beheaded man-eater on horse
- Man-eater exchanges tips with hoary old general
- Lecter or one of his ilk exchanging drugs
- Pick on outspoken supporter of Chinese general
- I’m amazed – pub – party – it’s all coming back in general
- General as one who would eat human flesh hot not cold!
- Humdrum initially, and awfully banal in general with elephants
- One who travelled far with dog hostelryrejected
- Dynasty has backed party in general
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Carthaginian leader" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case carthaginian leader = hannibal.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.