The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word MANIA
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
M
A
N
I
A
More clues leading to the result MANIA
- Fellow, one with a passion
- Guy on island, first character to display obsession
- Madness of king over leaving country
- Obsession – a state where one scrubs room regularly?
- Obsession in Asian capital to ban liberal
- Personal prestige involving ego, an abnormal fixation
- Object about including article on new craze
- Student not involved in small cigar craze
- Graduate wrapping article, current fad
- Passion of some woman I adore
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "craze" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case craze = mania.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 MANIA mean?
MANIA noun- Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity.
- Excessive or unreasonable desire; insane passion affecting one or many people; fanaticism.
- The state of abnormally elevated or irritable mood, arousal, and/or energy levels.