The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word TWENTIES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
T
W
E
N
T
I
E
S
More clues leading to the result TWENTIES
- It's ten, we suspect, for a decade
- Period of ten years passed amid restrictions
- Scores disappeared during matches
- The current decade represented in tweets
- They roared with wind by two but were swinging by three!
- Left in knots for a decade
- Scores left in knots
- Period elapsed in ruined site
- Left trapped in relationships for years in early adulthood
- Scores progressed during games
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Period of ten years" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case period of ten years = twenties.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 TWENTIES mean?
TWENTIES noun- The decade of the 1820s, 1920s, 2020s, etc.
- The decade of one's life from age 20 through age 29.
- (temperature, rates) The range between 20 and 29.
- A banknote with a denomination of 20.
- 10-20 (location).
- An old English division of infantry.