The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word FALL BACK
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
F
A
L
L
B
A
C
K
Buddy explains!
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 FALL BACK mean?
FALL BACK noun- An act of falling back.
- A backup plan or contingency strategy; an alternative which can be used if something goes wrong with the main plan; a recourse.
- A reduction in bitumen softening point, sometimes called refluxing or overheating in a relatively closed container.
- Pulverised material that falls back to earth after a nuclear explosion; fallout.