Loose ladies can be lofty! (6)
I believe the answer is:
ideals
'be lofty' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'loose ladies' is the wordplay.
'loose' is an anagram indicator (letters are loosened from their original positions).
'ladies' with letters rearranged gives 'IDEALS'.
'can' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ideals that I've seen before include "Moral value" , "High values for ladies" , "Ladies (anag.)" , "High standards for ladies" , "Models of excellance" .)