The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word CARNAGE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
C
A
R
N
A
G
E
More clues leading to the result CARNAGE
- Slaughter horse and worry about it
- Worry about horse butchery
- Much bloodshed as one composer almost crushed by another
- Worry about badger killing
- Mind about horse causing destruction
- Slaughter horse — though it appears it’s being looked after!
- Anxiety about horse — possible result of terrible accident?
- Show concern about horse slaughter
- Ran amok in prison: multiple murders
- Bloodbath resulting from vehicle hitting old horse with energy
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "killing" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case killing = carnage.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 CARNAGE mean?
CARNAGE noun- Death and destruction.
- The corpses, gore, etc. that remain after a massacre.
- Any chaotic situation.