A man or woman left the crew short (5)
I believe the answer is:
leigh
'a man' is the definition.
'left the crew short' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'crew' becomes 'eight' (an eight-person rowing team).
'short' suggests deleting specific letters (to be short of something is to lack it).
'eight' with 't' removed is 'eigh'.
'l'+'eigh'='LEIGH'
'or woman' acts as a link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for leigh that I've seen before include "Vivien ---; --- Hunt" , "Vivien -, actress (Gone with the Wind)" , "See 17" , "Vivien . . . . . played Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone With the Wind'" , "Mike - - (film director)" .)