The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word LIFE RAFT
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
L
I
F
E
R
A
F
T
More clues leading to the result LIFE RAFT
- Long-term con behind item of survival equipment
- Irrationally fear being in elevator? This could save you
- Something designed to save cost when travelling back in car journey
- Boarding budget-fare Filipinos capsized small boat
- Free ride carrying passenger north in emergency transport
- Lag behind emergency transport
- Prisoner at back of boat? This may help if he goes overboard!
- Emergency equipment passenger picked up during free journey
- Story about fine female abducted by traitor in sailor’s last resort
- Murderer maybe near the stern in rescue float
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Something designed to save" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case something designed to save = life raft.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.