The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word FLORISTS
F
L
O
R
I
S
T
S
More clues leading to the result FLORISTS
- Criminal lifts rose when leaving English shops
- Retailers for whom frost is disastrous around the end of April
- Flag sellers?
- Shopkeepers dealing with Lily, Rose, Iris, Jasmine and the like
- We left flowers around First for these merchants
- No doubt they expect their business to be blooming
- Glory neither started nor ended in fists
- Full catalogues including alternative plant sellers
- They make bouquets by hand, draping large gold heart in roses
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "merchants" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case merchants = florists.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 FLORISTS mean?
FLORISTS noun- A person who sells flowers.
- A person who cultivates flowers.
- A person who studies or writes about flowers.
- A florist's shop.