The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word DROLLERY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
D
R
O
L
L
E
R
Y
More clues leading to the result DROLLERY
- Your extremely evil master’s twisted jesting
- Turn, heading for exit, during boring comedy
- Did turn briefly in subtle comedy
- Turn on leader of establishment overwhelmed by sarcastic jokes
- Retiring peer left oddly early for comic show
- Comedy hair curler found between beginning and end of day
- Register ultimate in praise during subtle comedy
- Titled figure in turn with early broadcast lacking a humorous quality
- Sitcom actress in dry humor
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Comedy" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case comedy = drollery.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.