Crossword Genius

Lead, say, for Bond's boss and others (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

metal

'lead say' is the definition.
(lead is a metal)

'bond's boss and others' is the wordplay.
'bond's boss' becomes 'm' (M is the head of MI6 in the James Bond series).
'and others' becomes 'etal' (short for 'et alia', 'and others' in Latin).
'm'+'etal'='METAL'

'for' is the link.

(Other definitions for metal that I've seen before include "Copper, perhaps" , "barium?" , "Substance as gold, iron" , "Musically it can be heavy" , "Tin, for example" .)

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