Dependable but left out, is worker acknowledged? (3-6)
I believe the answer is:
soi-disant
'dependable but left out' is the definition.
The definition suggests an adjective which matches the answer.
'is worker acknowledged?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'is' is present in the answer.
'worker' could be 'ant' (worker is a type of ant) and 'ant' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for soi-disant that I've seen is " Self-styled".)