The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 plus 3 plus 4 letter word RAIN CATS AND DOGS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
R
A
I
N
C
A
T
S
A
N
D
D
O
G
S
More clues leading to the result RAIN CATS AND DOGS
- Come down hard in a way that’s “petty”?
- Pelt of animals kept as pets
- Bucket contains rags dad recycled
- Exhibit mammalian consequences of the foregoing?
- Come down on heavy petting?
- Chuck down at least sixteen feet of water?
- Come down in beastly fashion
- Pets commonly on lead caught in sheet
- South American stand-off at party in rough clothing to 12
- Rule in hearing on domestic pets, then come down hard
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Come down on heavy petting?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case come down on heavy petting? = rain cats and dogs.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.