Mangy spud, by the sound of it? (5)
I believe the answer is:
tatty
'sound of it?' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'mangy spud by the' is the wordplay.
'mangy spud' becomes 'atty' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'atty' after 't' is 'TATTY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tatty that I've seen before include "Sounds like King Edward in Scotland" , "Tawdry" , "Neglected" , "Frayed" , "untidy" .)