The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word PLAYMATE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
P
L
A
Y
M
A
T
E
More clues leading to the result PLAYMATE
- Chum put down floor covering, interrupting exercise
- In drama, represent first officer’s child’s friend
- Colleague in amateur team finally welcomed by head
- One in nursery, possibly cultivated yam wearing coat
- He joins in the fun to compete against another team
- Childhood companion to act as husband
- Game participant May dancing — there’s something impressive about that!
- Make winning move for friend out of work?
- Friend managed team, putting fun first
- Friend of criminal may cut through photograph
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "friend out of work?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case friend out of work? = playmate.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 PLAYMATE mean?
PLAYMATE noun- A companion for someone (especially a child) to play with.
- A female who has appeared as the centerfold in Playboy magazine.
- A person's lover.