Took risks — kicked bucket across entrance to crescent (5)
I believe the answer is:
diced
'took risks' is the definition.
(to dice is to gamble or take risks)
'kicked bucket across entrance to crescent' is the wordplay.
'kicked bucket' becomes 'died' (to kick the bucket can informally mean to die).
'across' is an insertion indicator.
'entrance to' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'crescent' is 'c'.
'died' going around 'c' is 'DICED'.
(Other definitions for diced that I've seen before include "Chopped; gambled" , "Cut into small cubes" , "Risked" , "Gambled or cut into cubes" , "Played with small cubes" .)