The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word OVERSOLD
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
O
V
E
R
S
O
L
D
More clues leading to the result OVERSOLD
- Series of deliveries out of date and provided at too high a price
- Exaggerated merit of completed series’ introduction – out of date
- Old priest reflected star director had exaggerated appeal
- Made too much of silver balls at first
- Exaggerated merits of old solver, wrecked by end of crossword
- Hyped-up spells of cricket out of date
- Rod loves bananas and peddled too many
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Exaggerated merit of" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case exaggerated merit of = oversold.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 OVERSOLD mean?
OVERSOLD adjective- In a stock or commodity market condition where there has been significant trading driving prices down to lower levels, levels which seem overextended or excessive on a short-term basis.