The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word CREATURE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
C
R
E
A
T
U
R
E
More clues leading to the result CREATURE
- Make a fuss about heart of hurt animal
- Cute rare flying animal
- Animal around and about, adult male’s lost
- Being true to form after running race
- Being right to worry, with smoke closing in
- Living being, rare, cute, evolving
- Person shows cute rear when dancing
- Animal, carnivore about to be caught by river in Yorkshire
- Being in credit, getting article with initial deduction
- Rook to consume when covered in salt. Food for carnivores?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "animal" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case animal = creature.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 CREATURE mean?
CREATURE noun- A living being; an animal or (sometimes derogatory) a human.
- A created thing, whether animate or inanimate; a creation.
- A being subservient to or dependent upon another.