The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word HANGMAN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
H
A
N
G
M
A
N
More clues leading to the result HANGMAN
- Game where the suspense comes at the end
- Criminal cases he finally came to drop?
- He suspends word game
- One who used to dispatch game
- With both flanks cleared, swap piece, drawing game
- Killer game
- One who carried out a suspended sentence?
- He delivers final sentence in word game
- He despatches word game
- Game where drawing may lead to suspension?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Killer/game" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case killer/game = hangman.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 HANGMAN mean?
HANGMAN noun- An executioner responsible for hanging criminals.
- (games) A guessing game where one has to guess the word an opponent is thinking of by guessing one letter at a time, and involving the gradual drawing of a stick figure hanging from the gallows.