The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word SPATS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
S
P
A
T
S
More clues leading to the result SPATS
- Clothing once displayed by father in streets
- Petty arguments like these about ankles!
- George Raft’s Colombo a match for petty quarrels
- Brushes the man’s garments
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone’s opening fights
- Come back in just a pseudo pair of shoes
- Protective wear clashes
- Squabbles well before time end in hand- shakes
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Petty arguments/these about ankles!" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case petty arguments/these about ankles! = spats.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 SPATS mean?
SPATS noun- (often in the plural) A covering or decorative covering worn over a shoe.
- A piece of bodywork that covers the upper portions of the rear tyres of a car.
- A brief argument, falling out, quarrel.
- A light blow with something flat.
- An obsolete unit of distance in astronomy (symbol S), equal to one billion kilometres.
- A stiff legging worn over the instep and ankles of a shoe.
- A similar device for horses.
- Long hair on front of lower legs of heavier horses (over the hooves), especially draft horses, notably the Clydesdale breed.