Crossword Genius

Trainee forced to spend minutes in court (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cadet

'trainee' is the definition.
(I know that cadet is a type of trainee)

'forced to spend minutes in court' is the wordplay.
'forced' becomes 'made' (I've seen this before).
'to spend' is a deletion indicator (spend can mean to lose or waste).
'minutes' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'court' becomes 'ct' (abbreviation used in road names).
'made' with 'm' taken out is 'ade'.
'ade' inserted into 'ct' is 'CADET'.

(Other definitions for cadet that I've seen before include "Young trainee, eg in the police" , "Armed services trainee" , "who needs to be properly trained?" , "One taking instructions" , "novice" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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