The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word DIABETES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
D
I
A
B
E
T
E
S
More clues leading to the result DIABETES
- Debate is moving about illness
- Elizabeth interrupts Sadie broadcasting complaint
- Sound of awful insects carrying source of terrible disease
- Passes on without a risk of illness
- Condition resulting from bad sweets I chewed after losing wife and son
- Debate is about what costs NHS billions
- Could bad diets be a cause?
- Without egg, suffers disease
- Debate is involving disease
- Complaint when one perishes without help
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "what costs NHS billions" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case what costs nhs billions = diabetes.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 DIABETES mean?
DIABETES noun- Diabetes insipidus; any condition characterized by excessive or incontinent urine, now specifically as caused by impaired production of, or response to, the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin.
- Any of a group of metabolic diseases whereby a person (or other animal) has high blood sugar due to an inability to produce, or inability to metabolize, sufficient quantities of the hormone insulin.
- Any food or beverage with a high amount of sugar.