The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word DOWNFALL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
D
O
W
N
F
A
L
L
More clues leading to the result DOWNFALL
- Humiliation of Democrat on personal trip
- ‘Blue Season’ – disgrace!
- Precipitation from pillow failure?
- Rain leads to ruin
- Depressed facing autumn in the States, and ruin
- Failure of Worcestershire’s opener caught by Bradman at slip
- Low river and lake in burst of rain
- Share index decline around November brings ruin
- Teacher consuming whiskey following everyone failing
- Miserable period of year in Texas producing ruin
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Rain/ruin" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case rain/ruin = downfall.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 DOWNFALL mean?
DOWNFALL noun- A precipitous decline in fortune; death or rapid deterioration, as in status or wealth.
- The cause of such a fall; a critical blow or error.
- An act of falling down.
- To fall down; deteriorate; decline.