The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 4 letter word BANANA SKIN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
B
A
N
A
N
A
S
K
I
N
More clues leading to the result BANANA SKIN
- Item on sole of slipper?
- Mad family might be something to cause embarrassment
- Mad family a potential cause of embarrassment
- Mad relations, possible cause of downfall
- Clowns fall for such a cuckoo family?
- Taking part in samba, nan asking for a potential slip-up!
- Crazy family that could lead to one’s downfall
- Cuckoo family in trouble, potentially
- Possible disaster maddened loved ones
- Potential cause of downfall in cuckoo family
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "that could lead to one’s downfall /that could lead to one’s downfall" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case that could lead to one’s downfall /that could lead to one’s downfall = banana skin.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.