The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word WOMEN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
W
O
M
E
N
More clues leading to the result WOMEN
- Ladies obtained in marriage with an embrace for me
- Old maidens in novel about females
- Half of us succeeded, including me
- About half the population has cut back on space
- 15 in the future will occupy Mars, employing nanobots initially
- Half of all adults were victorious, this person included
- Girls prevailed over guys for the most part
- Sign on head of worried people such as these
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Ladies" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case ladies = women.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 WOMEN mean?
WOMEN noun- An adult female human.
- (collective) All females collectively; womankind.
- A female person, usually an adult; a (generally adult) female sentient being, whether human, supernatural, elf, alien, etc.
- A wife (or sometimes a fiancée or girlfriend).
- A female who is extremely fond of or devoted to a specified type of thing. (Used as the last element of a compound.)
- A female attendant or servant.