Crossword Genius

Husband wearing cravat. Loud. Criminal, actually (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

thief

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

'criminal actually' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'husband wearing cravat loud' is the wordplay.
'husband' becomes 'h'.
'wearing' is an insertion indicator.
'cravat' becomes 'tie' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'loud' becomes 'f' (A musical term).
'h' going inside 'tie' is 'thie'.
'thie'+'f'='THIEF'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for thief that I've seen before include "Unlawful taker" , "Pilferer" , "'Taffy was a - - '" , "Raffles, say" , "Person who steals things" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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