Crossword Genius

Kipling's soldier, say, making a speech? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stalky

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'kipling's soldier say making a' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'speech?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'speech?' could be 'talk' (talk is a kind of speech) and 'talk' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for stalky that I've seen is " ' - - and Co.' (Kipling)".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app