Cryptic crossword clue
Lights out not later than beginning of evening — black, of course 3-4

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word BYE-BYES

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
B
Y
E
-
B
Y
E
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Lights out" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case lights out = bye-byes.
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 BYE-BYES mean?

BYE-BYES noun
  1. A goodbye.
  2. Bedtime for a toddler, going to sleep, going to bed.

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