The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word VENOM
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
V
E
N
O
M
More clues leading to the result VENOM
- Malice shown by highly honoured archdeacon?
- Poison archdeacon with high honour
- Spite of small number married after Victory in Europe
- Have no money - malice is concealed
- A bit of love, no more malice
- VE Day overturned bitterness
- In love? No, mate, hate!
- Rancour in van, missing an M1 turning
- MI5 served up poison
- Have no medicine that contains poison
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "poison" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case poison = venom.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 VENOM mean?
VENOM noun- A poison carried by an animal, usually injected into an enemy or prey by biting or stinging.
- Feeling or speech marked by spite or malice; vitriol.
- To infect with venom; to envenom; to poison.
- Poisonous, poisoned; (figuratively) pernicious.