Cryptic crossword clue
Narcolepsy: philistine’s disease 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SYPHILIS

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
Y
P
H
I
L
I
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "disease" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case disease = syphilis.
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.

Crossword Answer definitions

SYPHILIS noun
  1. A disease spread via sexual activity, caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum.

Latest crossword clues with full explanations