The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 2 plus 8 letter word SWORD OF DAMOCLES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
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More clues leading to the result SWORD OF DAMOCLES
- This hung over diner at feast — from cold sodas we laced
- Menacing hanger-on at the feast?
- Hanger-on in class doomed, for failing to grasp minimum of workings
- Impending threat that could make some old cowards start to flee
- Do Dales cows form weird feeling of doom
- What could produce scared mood — wolf’s constant threat
- One’s scared doom flows from its collapse?
- Woods, farm closed off by imminent danger
- A hang-up that’s worrying son — close to collapse following mother’s remark
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Impending threat" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case impending threat = sword of damocles.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.