Cryptic crossword clue
Tricky period that could make ma dither 4,4

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word HARD TIME

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
H
A
R
D
T
I
M
E

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Tricky period" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case tricky period = hard time.
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.

Crossword Answer definitions

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