The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word HEATHENS
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
H
E
A
T
H
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S
More clues leading to the result HEATHENS
- We’ve no Messiah — Handel’s beginning to adopt chicken diet
- Savages cook fowl
- Infidels seen in heart of Lutheran capital . . . .
- They don’t believe he requires foreign capital
- They don’t believe you have to cook chickens
- Pagans warm up chickens
- Irreligious people provide warmth to lay group?
- Pagans cook birds
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Savages" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case savages = heathens.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 HEATHENS mean?
HEATHENS noun- An adherent of the Germanic neo-pagan faith of Heathenry.
- A person who does not follow a Christian religion; a pagan.
- (by extension) An uncultured or uncivilized person, philistine.