The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word BEGUM
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
B
E
G
U
M
More clues leading to the result BEGUM
- High-ranking Asian woman say taken in by tramp
- High-ranking Muslim woman, say, taken in by tramp
- Muslim female started getting short with male
- Stick used by extremely brittle Muslim prince’s widow
- Muslim woman to ask for charity with hesitation
- Titled woman, say, interrupting tramp
- Princess to show hesitancy in speech after press is seen
- Lady of rank shows hesitancy in speech following appeal
- Titled lady to plead with show of hesitation
- Muslim lady to ask character to return
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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 BEGUM mean?
BEGUM verb- To daub or cover with gum.
- A high-ranking Muslim woman, especially in India and Pakistan
- The form of address for such a woman