The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word LAYABOUT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
L
A
Y
A
B
O
U
T
More clues leading to the result LAYABOUT
- Ne'er-do-well has to settle a fight
- Loafer set on
- Attack lazy fellow
- Song concerning idle fellow
- Strike loafer
- Idler having answer in amateur contest
- Before a contest, amateur is slacker
- Good-for-nothing tup, maybe?
- Idle figure and aggressive youth hanging around a tree on the way up
- Good-for-nothing yob, a cove back inside
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Ne'er-do-wel" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case ne'er-do-wel = layabout.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 LAYABOUT mean?
LAYABOUT noun- A lazy person.