Crossword Genius

Trainee giving Charlie the wrong date (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cadet

'trainee' is the definition.
(cadet is a kind of trainee)

'giving charlie the wrong date' is the wordplay.
'giving' says to put letters next to each other.
'charlie' becomes 'C' (phonetic alphabet).
'the wrong' indicates an anagram.
'date' is an anagram of 'adet'.
'c'+'adet' is 'CADET'.

(Other definitions for cadet that I've seen before include "officer of the future" , "who needs to be properly trained?" , "Officer in training" , "novice" , "Young trainee, eg in the police" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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