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Youth recruited by special forces leaves (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

salads

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'leaves' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are plural nouns, I can't understand how one could define the other.

'youth recruited by special forces' is the wordplay.
'youth' becomes 'lad' (I've seen this in another clue).
'recruited by' indicates putting letters inside.
'special forces' becomes 'sas' (I've seen this in other clues).
'lad' placed inside 'sas' is 'SALADS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for salads that I've seen before include "Cold meals based on lettuce and vegetables" , "Dishes of letuce etc." , "Meals based on lettuce and veg" , "Mixtures of vegetables or fruit" , "Cold, dressed dishes" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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