Cryptic crossword clue
Rain lightly covers most of bare, hostile environment 8

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

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
N
A
K
E
P
I
T

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "hostile environment" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case hostile environment = snakepit.
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 SNAKEPIT mean?

SNAKEPIT noun
  1. A pit filled with snakes.
  2. Any institution (such as a school, prison, hospital, etc.) run in an inept or inhumane way, or full of hostile or treacherous people.

Latest crossword clues with full explanations