Cryptic crossword clue
Desperately beg, as NHS matters 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SHEBANGS

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
H
E
B
A
N
G
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "matters" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case matters = shebangs.
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 SHEBANGS mean?

SHEBANGS noun
  1. The character string "#!" used at the beginning of a computer file to indicate which interpreter can process the commands in the file, chiefly used in Unix and related operating systems.

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