Like silly talk about a redhead, roughly speaking (5)
I believe the answer is:
gruff
'like silly talk about a' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'redhead roughly speaking' is the wordplay.
'redhead' becomes 'g' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'roughly' becomes 'rough' (synonyms).
'speaking' shows a homophone (sound like).
'rough' is a homophone of 'ruff'.
'g'+'ruff'='GRUFF'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gruff that I've seen before include "Abrupt in sound or manner" , "Rasping - ungracious" , "Sounding rough" , "(Of voice) rough, low" , "Rough-sounding" .)