The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word HATER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
H
A
T
E
R
More clues leading to the result HATER
- One doesn't like shifting earth
- One who really dislikes 10 down? That’s a 5
- One with spite and broken heart
- Earth moved for lover? Anything but
- No lover has a broken heart
- He can’t stand either parent losing capital on horse
- Unpleasant type rat, he is horrible
- Boiler losing energy leaves one extremely negative
- One loathes mischief amongst personnel
- Heart problems? One doesn’t like it
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "lover? Anything but/lover? Anything but" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case lover? anything but/lover? anything but = hater.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 HATER mean?
HATER noun- One who hates.
- One who expresses unfounded or inappropriate hatred or dislike, particularly if motivated by envy.