The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word SCRAWNY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
C
R
A
W
N
Y
More clues leading to the result SCRAWNY
- Second loud comment about beard without much substance
- Thin beard and divine fringes
- Unhealthily thin son getting terribly wan in expression of pain
- Slight sees top rap group returning amid clamour
- Meagre second crop before end of season — why, you may ask
- Son, with stomach extremely nasty, is unhealthily thin
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "without much substance" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case without much substance = scrawny.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 SCRAWNY mean?
SCRAWNY adjective- Thin, malnourished and weak.