Crossword Genius

Penniless, proper not to start clinging (4-5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

skin-tight

'clinging' is the definition.

'penniless proper not to start' is the wordplay.
'penniless' becomes 'skint' (I've seen this before).
'proper' becomes 'right' ('right' can be a synonym of 'proper').
'not to start' means to remove the first letter.
'right' with its initial letter taken away is 'ight'.
'skint'+'ight'='SKIN-TIGHT'

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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