The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 5 letter word THE WOMEN
T
H
E
W
O
M
E
N
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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.