The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word YANKING
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
Y
A
N
K
I
N
G
More clues leading to the result YANKING
- What a jerk’s doing never rising before monarch?
- Pulling any trick’s essentially legit to protect family
- Five lost in navy rising, leader providing a tug
- Trying jerks in family – something positive about it?
- Any crackers wanted by family, good for pulling?
- After end of ceremony a new ruler is twitching
- Eastern masculine influence covering family exerting quite a pull
- . Forcing refusal to be withdrawn by monarch
- Taking out ruler after Year One
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "providing a tug" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case providing a tug = yanking.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 YANKING mean?
YANKING verb- To pull (something) with a quick, strong action.
- To remove from distribution.