Crossword Genius

With drug in hand, youth leader is spirited (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

feisty

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'spirited' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'with drug in hand youth leader' is the wordplay.
'with' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'drug in' becomes 'e' (E is another name for ecstasy. I am not sure about the 'in' bit.).
'hand' becomes 'fist' (fist is a kind of hand).
'youth leader' becomes 'y' (I've seen this in other clues).
'e' inserted inside 'fist' is 'feist'.
'feist'+'y'='FEISTY'

'is' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for feisty that I've seen before include "Spirited -- argumentative" , "Lively and quarrelsome" , "Spirited and courageous" , "In slang, aggressive or excitable" , "Spirited and lively" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
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