Crossword Genius

Boy, even empty, carrying some weight (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

laden

'carrying some weight' is the definition.

'boy even empty' is the wordplay.
'boy' becomes 'lad' (lad is a kind of boy**).
'empty' says to hollow out the word (remove centre letters).
'even' with its centre removed is 'en'.
'lad'+'en'='LADEN'

(Other definitions for laden that I've seen before include "Heavily loaded" , "cargo aboard" , "Like many a cargo ship" , "Eland (anag)" , "bearing burden" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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