Crossword Genius

Extended howling’s forced weak leader to flee (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

longish

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'forced weak leader to flee' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'extended howling's' is the wordplay.
'extended' becomes 'long' (extended can mean longer than usual).
'howling's' becomes 'ish' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'long'+'ish'='LONGISH'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for longish that I've seen before include "Fairly lengthy" , "Fairly extended" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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