The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word MERCURY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
M
E
R
C
U
R
Y
More clues leading to the result MERCURY
- Happy to gather copper, type of metal
- Drunk embraces copper — it may indicate warmth
- Happy about copper being an element
- Poisonous element drunk a little, and another element swallowed
- Heavy metal band’s flamboyant front man
- Lead singer, one in distant orbit?
- Heavenly body which rises when hot
- Plant
- Copper intercepts drunk messenger
- Copper in jolly metallic element
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Poisonous element" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case poisonous element = mercury.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 MERCURY mean?
MERCURY noun- A metal.
- Any of several types of plant.