The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word FATAL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
F
A
T
A
L
More clues leading to the result FATAL
- Obese Bert bringing about demise
- Deadly river claiming reserves
- Lard dealis disastrous
- Arafat allowed covering up of killing
- What a time being submerged by river could be?
- Deadly soubriquet for portly gangster?
- Corpulent American gangster causing death
- Killer if at all present in the heart
- Unavoidable fine should get reduced in any circumstances
- Overweight Capone is deadly
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Deadly" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case deadly = fatal.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 FATAL mean?
FATAL noun- A fatality; an event that leads to death.
- A fatal error; a failure that causes a program to terminate.
- Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny.
- Foreboding death or great disaster.
- Causing death or destruction.
- Causing a sudden end to the running of a program.