The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 5 letter word HAY FEVER
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
H
A
Y
F
E
V
E
R
More clues leading to the result HAY FEVER
- For a start, how are you feeling? Always sneezing?
- Complaint resulting from airborne reproduction
- According to Spooner, whimsical tosser is seasonal irritation
- Play causing discomfort for the viewers?
- Henry, indeed, fellow always getting the sneezes?
- Play that may bring tears to one’s eyes?
- Play with passion on grass
- Play that brings tears to your eyes
- Theatre classic that’s an irritation
- Laugh right after unknown girl grabs fellow in play
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "play" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case play = hay fever.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 HAY FEVER mean?
HAY FEVER noun- An allergy to the pollen of grass or other plants that causes symptoms similar to those of a cold; pollinosis.