The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word AWAY GAME
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
W
A
Y
G
A
M
E
More clues leading to the result AWAY GAME
- Dread ringing a Yankee school for distant 17?
- A wag may hit home finally – after this?
- Hungarian back not entirely in admiration, seeing fixture abroad?
- Willing, after a fashion, when not playing host
- Not in play, when performance is at a different venue
- A plan, bold for something not played at home
- It is not played at home
- A practice happy families perhaps contest when visiting
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "when not playing host" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case when not playing host = away game.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.