Cantankerous ill youngster straddles potty (5)
I believe the answer is:
silly
'potty' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'cantankerous ill youngster straddles' is the wordplay.
'SILLY' is hidden in amongst the letters.
But, I am uncertain how the hidden word is indicated.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for silly that I've seen before include "Ridiculous, frivolous" , "near the batsman" , "Preposterous" , "Not serious" , "Stupid" .)