The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word CODEINE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
C
O
D
E
I
N
E
More clues leading to the result CODEINE
- A German infringes protocol for drug
- Program in Excel — to begin with it can ease the pain
- Opiate supplied by Morse, perhaps by means of pill
- Drug fish with a German drug
- Established standard in drug, a painkiller
- Drug a German injected into Morse?
- An anodyne set of morals in English
- A German encrypted a number?
- Drug company badly need to contain source of inflammation
- Drug firm, one from Germany, located in the outskirts of Dundee
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "it can ease the pain" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case it can ease the pain = codeine.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 CODEINE mean?
CODEINE noun- An addictive alkaloid narcotic derived from opium and used as a hypnotic, analgesic and cough suppressant; often mixed with aspirin etc.