The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word BLUEBELL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
B
L
U
E
B
E
L
L
More clues leading to the result BLUEBELL
- Gloomy inventor making a bloomer
- Obscene call for former dancing girl
- Dancing girl at Le Lido line in Sussex
- Downcast beauty mislaid oriental flower
- Sad inventor gets flower
- Obscene call for dancer in Paris Lido
- Bloomer down phone
- Sad book with lines about end of fragile flower
- Flower in vulgar ring
- Racy? Live, live, live, flower!
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "former dancing girl" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case former dancing girl = bluebell.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 BLUEBELL mean?
BLUEBELL noun- Various flowering plants with blue, usually pendulous, flowers.