The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word EGYPTIAN
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
E
G
Y
P
T
I
A
N
More clues leading to the result EGYPTIAN
- Cleopatra was girly in the extreme in brief fancy panties
- Earl messed up, taping last bit of Antony and Cleopatra?
- Type in outskirts of Giza possibly?
- like mummy
- African gent I pay is dodgy
- Crossing yard quietly, eating nuts from Africa
- African agent, I spy leader going out a different way
- Type of pain bound up with spreading tinea
- African with English typing a novel
- Ancient language translated from tiny page
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Cleopatra" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cleopatra = egyptian.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.