The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 1 plus 5 letter word NOT A SCRAP
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
N
O
T
A
S
C
R
A
P
More clues leading to the result NOT A SCRAP
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Nothing" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case nothing = not a scrap.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.