The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word EVENTIDE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
E
V
E
N
T
I
D
E
More clues leading to the result EVENTIDE
- Occasion that is wrapping up day
- Regular and predictable movement late in the day
- Sporting contest: plan to finish early or late in the day
- Water moving smoothly in latter part of day?
- Occurrence I’d expected at first? It’s late in the day
- Occasion I’d start to enjoy late in the day
- Fast faller sung of at Cup Final
- Flow of water not choppy when darkness falls?
- European disarray evident at the end of the day
- Flat, then something ebbing and flowing late in the day
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "close of day" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case close of day = eventide.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 EVENTIDE mean?
EVENTIDE noun- Evening