What could make adult shortly be led astray? Being this? (9)
I believe the answer is:
deludable
'astray? being this?' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun but the answer is not.
'what could make adult shortly be led' is the wordplay.
'what could make' is an anagram indicator.
'shortly' means to remove the last letter.
'adult' with its final letter removed is 'adul'.
'adul'+'be'+'led'='adulbeled'
'adulbeled' anagrammed gives 'DELUDABLE'.
I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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