Cryptic crossword clue
Hunted rabbits: celebrated bagging stray 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word FERRETED

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Hunted rabbits" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case hunted rabbits = ferreted.
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 FERRETED mean?

FERRETED verb
  1. To hunt game with ferrets.
  2. (by extension) To uncover and bring to light by searching; usually to ferret out.

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