The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word PATHOGEN
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
P
A
T
H
O
G
E
N
More clues leading to the result PATHOGEN
- Way old info is presented — a cause of ill feeling!
- Source of disease: head about to keep note
- Way melon can make one sick
- Heptagon-shaped virus
- Heptagon-shaped virus, perhaps?
- Zero information on course for virus, say
- Old info on way to produce virus
- One could be responsible for 13, with a tense pig in sty
- Setter ingesting ecstasy and heroin got nasty bug
- Track over information for virus?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "it makes you sick" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case it makes you sick = pathogen.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 PATHOGEN mean?
PATHOGEN noun- Any organism or substance, especially a microorganism, capable of causing disease, such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa or fungi. Microorganisms are not considered to be pathogenic until they have reached a population size that is large enough to cause disease.