The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word POPULACE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
P
O
P
U
L
A
C
E
More clues leading to the result POPULACE
- People power unsettled a couple
- People in general work like snobs to fill position
- Father sat on spike to entertain posh people
- Community site hosting university after work
- Scene about short musical work united people
- Mob‘s coup plea concocted
- Rabble‘s coup plea worked
- The old man of the upper class to reprimand common people
- The people with nothing rising up in locality
- Crack a clue fashioned by common people
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "The people" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case the people = populace.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 POPULACE mean?
POPULACE noun- The common people of a nation.
- The inhabitants of a nation.