Young man went ahead and spooned (6)

I believe the answer is:

ladled

'spooned' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'young man went ahead' is the wordplay.
'young man' becomes 'lad' (lad can mean a boy or young man).
'went ahead' becomes 'led' (I've seen this in another clue).
'lad'+'led'='LADLED'

'and' acts as a link.

(Another definition for ladled that I've seen is " Was Spooner".)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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