The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word CHASTITY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
C
H
A
S
T
I
T
Y
More clues leading to the result CHASTITY
- Criminal is catty about husband’s celibacy
- Reduced speed in Washington DC, perhaps steering clear of Congress
- Charlie rushed to accept sex, not displaying this
- Talk about son, occasionally filthy, showing virtue
- Reduction of speed in big town is seen as a virtue
- Innocence of children, Italian, evident during stay abroad
- In city, has time for purity
- State that keeps one away from Congress?
- After tea, it is stored in sty for purity
- Abstinence having caught rash accepting sex
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "steering clear of Congress" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case steering clear of congress = chastity.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 CHASTITY mean?
CHASTITY noun- The quality of being chaste: the state of abstaining from any sexual activity considered immoral; avoidance of sexual sins.