The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word CULT
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
C
U
L
T
More clues leading to the result CULT
- Loss of power after Liberal has infiltrated religious group
- Start to copy last month’s fad
- Sect exposed in actuality oddly dissolving
- Copper and army officer in unorthodox organisation
- Learner gets cross about religious group
- . Share includes fifty in the group
- Some meat sandwiches left for a bunch of zealots
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "fad" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case fad = cult.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 CULT mean?
CULT noun- A group or sect of people with a deviant religious, philosophical or cultural identity, often existing on the margins of society or exploitative towards its members.
- Devotion to a saint.
- The veneration and religious rites given to a deity, esp. in a historical polytheistic context.
- A religion that evolved out of another religion but has become a different religion through developing a radically different theology.
- A group of people having an obsession with or intense admiration for a particular activity, idea, person or thing.
- Of or relating to a cult.
- Enjoyed by a small, loyal group.
- True to the ideology of black metal or a stereotypical manifestation of that subculture.