The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word RAINWATER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
R
A
I
N
W
A
T
E
R
More clues leading to the result RAINWATER
- Hiding in temple, raised seat drops from above
- When dizzy, errant waif almost drops from the heavens
- Berlin chap takes in Buddhist temple, it’s heaven-sent!
- They say to rule women by fear regularly leads to downfall
- Gunners taking a bath or shower?
- Waiter ran around — something leaking through the roof?
- Crumbling terrain around Western Australia — does it need this?
- I want rare collection which falls from the sky
- Outcome of downpour in rocky terrain swamping western area
- Unstable rate, I warn, drops
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "downfall" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case downfall = rainwater.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 RAINWATER mean?
RAINWATER noun- Rainfall.
- Water (for a house etc) sourced from rain which has not joined a spring, stream or river, pond, lake or sea.