The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word WRETCHED
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
W
R
E
T
C
H
E
D
More clues leading to the result WRETCHED
- Unhappy new teacher finally made an impression
- Hapless wife made an impression with king
- Sorry Watts had dry heaves
- Miserable wife gagged
- Women getting gagged? That’s unfortunate
- Sorry we had to bury gag
- Pathetic pieces of work that aren’t even engraved
- Wife was sick? Sorry!
- Deeply impressed after heartless 18 Across, but miserable
- It’s miserable, being married, having inner strain
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Miserable" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case miserable = wretched.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 WRETCHED mean?
WRETCHED adjective- Very miserable; feeling deep affliction or distress.
- Worthless; paltry; very poor or mean; miserable.
- Hatefully contemptible; despicable; wicked.
- Used to express dislike of or annoyance towards the mentioned thing.