Dawdle and pretend to be ill with mum absent (6)
I believe the answer is:
linger
'dawdle' is the definition.
(I know that dawdle can be written as linger)
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for linger that I've seen before include "Delay departure" , "'Loiter, delay leaving (6)'" , "Dally, stay on" , "Remain behind" , "Hang about, don't be in a hurry to go" .)