Cryptic crossword clue
Novel I bought full of principally malicious gossip 8

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

I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
B
I
G
M
O
U
T
H

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "gossip" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case gossip = bigmouth.
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 BIGMOUTH mean?

BIGMOUTH noun
  1. One who talks too much or says things which should not be said.
BIGMOUTH adjective
  1. Applied to various creatures that have a large mouth.

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