The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 3 letter word WEEK OFF
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
W
E
E
K
O
F
F
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "what might the malingerer take?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case what might the malingerer take? = week off.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.