As used in writing a letter to N. Ireland? (3)
I believe the answer is:
nib
'as used in' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how they can define each other.
'a letter to n ireland?' is the wordplay.
'a letter' becomes 'b' ().
'to' means one lot of letters go next to another (I've seen this in other clues).
'n ireland?' becomes 'NI' (Northern Ireland).
'b' put after 'ni' is 'NIB'.
'writing' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nib that I've seen before include "Pen end" , "Point of an old-fashioned pen" , "Pen's point" , "Writing point of old pen" , "Part of a fountain pen" .)