The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word ENCUMBER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
E
N
C
U
M
B
E
R
More clues leading to the result ENCUMBER
- Letter replaces later one read aloud at opening of vegetable hamper
- Hamper with food additive to eat cold
- Redneck oddly ignored brown saddle
- Burden finding a hundred in code on food label
- Jam and whipped creme bun
- Load cook initially found having to cut sign of additives?
- Traditional measure of cool with Cup all but lost and points paramount can be handicap
- Load start of cipher in additive code
- Eastern US state linked to brown hamper
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "hamper" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case hamper = encumber.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 ENCUMBER mean?
ENCUMBER verb- To load down something with a burden
- To restrict or block something with a hindrance or impediment
- To burden with a legal claim or other obligation