A nice girl to butter up (7)
I believe the answer is:
crumpet
'butter up' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both things that one consumes for nourishment as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'a nice girl' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'girl' could be 'pet' and 'pet' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for crumpet that I've seen before include "Thick soft cake with a porous texture" , "Confection for toasting" , "Thick flat cake, eaten toasted" , "Griddle cake" , "Cake usually eaten hot with butter" .)