Report of simple child’s plaything (4)
I believe the answer is:
bear
'child's plaything' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot see how one could define the other.
'report of simple' is the wordplay.
'report of' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue (how it'd sound if reported).
'simple' becomes 'bare' (synonyms).
'bare' is a homophone of 'BEAR'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bear that I've seen before include "Show" , "Exhibit" , "Support; share seller" , "Pessimistic investor" , "Put up with - beast!" .)