The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 letter word BOY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
B
O
Y
More clues leading to the result BOY
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "young man" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case young man = boy.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 BOY mean?
BOY noun- A young male.
- (diminutive) A male child: a son of any age.
- (diminutive) A male of any age, particularly one rather younger than the speaker.
- A male of low station, (especially as pejorative) a worthless male, a wretch; a mean and dishonest male, a knave.
- (now rare and usually offensive outside some Commonwealth nations) A male servant, slave, assistant, or employee, particularly:
- Any non-white male, regardless of age.
- A male animal, especially, in affectionate address, a male dog.
- A former low rank of various armed services; a holder of this rank.
- Heroin.
- (somewhat childish) A male (tree, gene, etc).
- To use the word “boy” to refer to someone.
- To act as a boy (in allusion to the former practice of boys acting women's parts on the stage).
- Exclamation of surprise, pleasure or longing.