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Not a word about old childhood disease (8)

C _ I _ K _ _ S

I can only think (i.e. guess) CRICKETS

Any ideas?

I think you are correct C (about) + RICKETS (old childhood disease).
Crickets meaning ‘silence’ (not a word) i.e. just the sound of chirping, comes from the film industry it seems. I can’t find it in any dictionary though!

This might be of interest…
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-were-watching-crickets-silence

Okay, so C = circa = about
Rickets = old childhood disease

Crickets = not a word... Hmmm I don't accept that, but, in the words of the New York mafiosi, Hey, what are you going to do. Forget about it.

Indeed. Whether you accept it or not, jono’s explanation is the correct one, viz.

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/crickets

Well done Jono - I think we've all learned something!

Oh yes, I've realised that vaguely American phraselology is part of the FT Magazine Crossword Setter's vocabulary. Probably get "You Do The Math" next... Or "My Bad"..... Jeesh