The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word GANGLY
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
G
A
N
G
L
Y
More clues leading to the result GANGLY
- Lanky, like a group of criminals might you say?
- With long, awkward limbs in aisle, left for Washington
- Lanky schoolfriends as a group play regularly
- Awkward, like a group of criminals?
- Tall and spindly: describing bunch of hoodlums arguably?
- Scrawny mob put on plays — nothing odd about that
- Loosely put together band lately disheartened
- Awkward group of criminals likely to lose heart
- Criminal group extremely lanky: tall and thin
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Lanky" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case lanky = gangly.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 GANGLY mean?
GANGLY adjective- Tall and thin, especially so as to cause physical awkwardness.