Cryptic crossword clue
Whistler capturing sanctimonious leader in religious sucker 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word HORSEFLY

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "sucker" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case sucker = horsefly.
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 HORSEFLY mean?

HORSEFLY noun
  1. Any of several medium to large flies, of the family Tabanidae, that suck the blood of mammals (not to be confused with Stomoxys calcitrans, the stable fly, or dog fly).

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