The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word ANYTHING
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
A
N
Y
T
H
I
N
G
More clues leading to the result ANYTHING
- Whatever takes your fancy, many thin gassy drinks?
- Whatever is peculiar to New York?
- An obsession about New York, no matter what
- Whatever you like in tangy broth, ultimately surprising
- Whatever’s like seeing a show on Broadway?
- An unknown object, literally
- When this goes wild Granny Smith makes Mr S jumpy!
- Unspecified object: hang it loosely round nanny’s shoulders
- A Big Apple affair? It’s not love
- A night out across the city? Whatever
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Whatever takes your fancy" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case whatever takes your fancy = anything.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 ANYTHING mean?
ANYTHING noun- Someone or something of importance.
- Any object, act, state, event, or fact whatever; a thing of any kind; something or other.
- (with “as” or “like”) Expressing an indefinite comparison.
- In any way, any extent or any degree.