The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word STINGY
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
S
T
I
N
G
Y
More clues leading to the result STINGY
- Mean poisoner’s no artist
- Mean to do last of laundry
- Mean pop star – my money is missing
- Penny-pinching, vacuous young son goes back to pocket money
- Mean swindle by unknown character
- Mean fish sun-god’s eradicated
- Policeman close to adversary like Scrooge?
- Mean one, no good, in a filthy place
- Mean to be wasting years? Not altogether
- Mean — and waspish?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Mean" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case mean = stingy.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 STINGY mean?
STINGY adjective- Unwilling to spend, give, or share; ungenerous; mean
- Small, scant, meager, insufficient
- Stinging; able to sting.