The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word PSALTERS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
P
S
A
L
T
E
R
S
More clues leading to the result PSALTERS
- Church books badly produced with staplers
- As an afterthought, changes the songbooks
- Afterthought changes books of sacred songs
- Note amends books seen in church
- Small changes on page for religious texts
- Priest beginning to secure changes in church books
- Note changes showing hymn-books
- Additional material transforms liturgical books
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "hymn-books" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case hymn-books = psalters.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 PSALTERS mean?
PSALTERS noun- The Book of Psalms. Often applied to a book containing the Psalms separately printed.
- Specifically for Anglicans, the Book of Common Prayer which contains the Book of Psalms. For Catholics, the Breviary containing the Psalms arranged for each day of the week.
- In the Roman Catholic Church, a rosary consisting of one hundred and fifty beads, corresponding to the number of the Psalms.
- (obsolete or rare) psaltery (the musical instrument).