The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word TURNCOAT
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
T
U
R
N
C
O
A
T
More clues leading to the result TURNCOAT
- Move round bed to corner a rat
- Deserter’s vessel beginning to cave in completely
- Rat to go off with puss catching nothing
- Scab to spoil plaster
- With investment of company, go towards Judas?
- Traitor shot by CO, a leader of troops
- Traitor in film, shot at the start
- Go off and film rat
- Go and film defector
- One’s informed maybe how to make taco?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Scab" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case scab = turncoat.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 TURNCOAT mean?
TURNCOAT noun- A traitor; one who turns against a previous affiliation or allegiance.