Towelling front half of water tortoise dry, finally (5)
I believe the answer is:
terry
'towelling' is the definition.
(terry is a kind of towelling)
'front half of water tortoise dry finally' is the wordplay.
'front half of' suggests halving the letters.
'water tortoise' becomes 'terrapin' (I've seen this before).
'finally' indicates one should take the final letters.
The final letter of 'dry' is 'y'.
'terrapin' cut in half is 'terr'.
'terr'+'y'='TERRY'
(Other definitions for terry that I've seen before include "A man" , "Cotton pile fabric used for towels and bath robes" , "Loop of pile fabric; England footballer" , "Towelling material" , "Famous actress" .)