The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word AMETHYST
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
M
E
T
H
Y
S
T
More clues leading to the result AMETHYST
- Ace ran into hard unknown stone, this one?
- Stone? Hate my rocks with stone
- Sadly Leo leaves stately home in ruins — it’s a gem!
- Oddly my taste embraces hot item of jewellery
- Crooked team nicking your old small gemstone
- Maintaining speed, a van in York street is purple
- Purple: the mast after rigging containing hint of yellow
- Incorrectly, ‘the May stone’; it’s the February birthstone
- Steamy and hot on the outside, turning purple
- Stone‘s thrown at them outside flipping small yard
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "purple" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case purple = amethyst.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 AMETHYST mean?
AMETHYST noun- A transparent purple variety of quartz, used as a gemstone.
- A purple colour.
- The purple tincture when emblazoning the arms of the English nobility.
- Having a colour similar to that of the gemstone