The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word LADDIES
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
L
A
D
D
I
E
S
More clues leading to the result LADDIES
- Young men found old Penny in the little girls’ room
- Badly demoralised – no more little boys
- Women receiving diamonds from young men
- Boys and tot featuring in stories
- Young men and women drinking vodka heartily
- Boys, at first, destitute, taken in by women
- Refined women suppressing desires, principally for boys
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "young men" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case young men = laddies.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 LADDIES mean?
LADDIES noun- A small boy.