The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word CUTIE
C
U
T
I
E
More clues leading to the result CUTIE
- Attractive female player's first to go in eliminator
- Lovely metal link
- Piece of meat — item regularly forming dish
- Lovely thing diminished, that is
- Smart girl in non-league match, relieving pressure
- Shape that is lovely
- Share that is for a pretty girl
- Peach, sliced, is eaten initially
- She’s smashing items seen at Crucible and Belfry, so we hear
- Someone appealing from courtside regularly
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Lovely thing" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case lovely thing = cutie.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 CUTIE mean?
CUTIE noun- A cute person or animal.
- A clementine: a small, waxy-peeled orange hybrid cultivar that is easy to peel by hand.
- (by extension) Any small mandarin orange variety such as a tangerine or a satsuma.