The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SIDEKICK
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
S
I
D
E
K
I
C
K
More clues leading to the result SIDEKICK
- Associate party with brief enjoyment.
- Crony that’s laid up, eating fish kedgeree at first
- Associate team with what footballers do
- Robin perhaps has to stop, with plane going over
- Associate team with potency
- Associate offering team a boost?
- Mate with Punch, showing arrogance at first
- Partner in punt next to bank
- Partner in team given the boot
- Team gets a thrill from partner
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "loyal subordinate" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case loyal subordinate = sidekick.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 SIDEKICK mean?
SIDEKICK noun- An assistant to another person, especially to a superior or more important person.