What Jack might say to a bit of a hoyden? (4)
I believe the answer is:
ahoy
'what jack might' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'say to a bit of a hoyden?' is the wordplay.
'say' becomes 'oy' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'to' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'bit of' says to take the initial letters.
The first letter of 'hoyden' is 'h'.
'a'+'h'='ah'
'oy' after 'ah' is 'AHOY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ahoy that I've seen before include "Nautical hail" , "Nautical shout" , "Offshore hail" , "Temporarily blind" , "Naval call for attention" .)