Crossword Genius

Cane applied to boy’s rear? That could be awkward (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sticky

'awkward' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'cane applied to boy's rear?' is the wordplay.
'cane' becomes 'stick' (I've seen this before).
'applied to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'rear?' says to take the final letters (I've seen 'rear of' mean this).
The final letter of 'boy' is 'y'.
'stick'+'y'='STICKY'

'that could be' is the link.

(Other definitions for sticky that I've seen before include "Viscous - problematic" , "Oppressive" , "Awkward; tacky" , "Adhesive, gluey" , "Adhesive; awkward" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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