The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word COLD SORE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
C
O
L
D
S
O
R
E
More clues leading to the result COLD SORE
- Dr Spooner’s disposed of heart abscess caused by virus
- Composed score without previous blemish
- Chemist originally sold new mineral for facial blemish
- Problem faced boarding middle, getting on back of bus
- What might make you frigid and testy?
- Indifferent about protecting extremely inflamed blister near the mouth
- Firm learning given about origins of damaged skin and blister
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "abscess caused by virus" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case abscess caused by virus = cold sore.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.