Cryptic crossword clue
Composer and novelist cut short female in 13 7

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word BERGMAN

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
B
E
R
G
M
A
N


Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "female in 13" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case female in 13 = bergman.
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.


Latest crossword clues with full explanations