Crossword Genius

Pick up awful cheat, causing grief (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

heartache

'grief' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'pick up awful cheat' is the wordplay.
'pick up' becomes 'hear' (hearing is a kind of picking up).
'awful' is an anagram indicator.
'cheat' is an anagram of 'tache'.
'hear'+'tache'='HEARTACHE'

'causing' is the link.

(Other definitions for heartache that I've seen before include "Emotional anguish" , "Emotional distress" , "Grief" , "expression of sorrow" , "Great sadness" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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.