The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 5 plus 3 plus 4 letter word THE WORSE FOR WEAR
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
T
H
E
W
O
R
S
E
F
O
R
W
E
A
R
More clues leading to the result THE WORSE FOR WEAR
- We're short of tailored clothing that's tight
- Energy goes in running water for shower in poor repair
- Shabby drunk
- Drunk and disorderly father swore twice, disowning one son
- Drunk, adversely affected by sport
- Suggesting better clothes shouldn’t be put on, being drunk
- Falling apart after row, her woes compounded
- Tired and emotional, and shabby?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Falling apart" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case falling apart = the worse for wear.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.