The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word DEADWOOD
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
D
E
A
D
W
O
O
D
More clues leading to the result DEADWOOD
Buddy explains!
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 DEADWOOD mean?
DEADWOOD noun- Coarse woody debris.
- People or things judged to be superfluous to an organization or project.
- Money not realized by exiting a winning pump trade too early.
- Pins that have fallen and have not been cleared from the alley.
- Vertical planks between the keel and the sternpost that act as reinforcement.
- (by extension) Structural material on a load-carrying vehicle that reduces the available cargo space.
- (rummy) Cards in a hand that do not contribute to sets and which are usually counted as points against the player holding the hand.
- Cards that have been discarded.