The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SCABBARD
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
C
A
B
B
A
R
D
More clues leading to the result SCABBARD
- Part of swordsman’s kit shows evidence of damage by poet
- Cover small taxi off across river
- Crust and bacon rasher together in foil cover?
- Rat overturned dull case for weapon
- As cover for wound, pick up dull-coloured sheath
- Dull bank payment system backed cover
- Cover rogue poet
- Foil may be kept in this British pub stuffing fish?
- Poet backing blackleg’s case for weapon
- Steel casing
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Cover" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cover = scabbard.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 SCABBARD mean?
SCABBARD noun- The sheath of a sword.
- To put an object (especially a sword) into its scabbard.