Attempt to eat a waistcoat is a sick satire (8)

I believe the answer is:

travesty

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'sick satire' is the definition.
'travesty' can be an answer for 'satire' (thesaurus). I am unsure of the 'sick' bit.

'attempt to eat a waistcoat' is the wordplay.
'attempt' becomes 'try' (synonyms).
'to eat' indicates putting letters inside.
'waistcoat' becomes 'vest' (synonyms).
'a'+'vest'='avest'
'try' going around 'avest' is 'TRAVESTY'.

'is a' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for travesty that I've seen before include "pantomime" , "Grotesque distortion" , "Mockery, grotesque imitation" , "Terrible distortion of something." , "Grotesque misrepresentation" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.