Soldiers left cold by drying agent (4)
I believe the answer is:
talc
'drying agent' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both substances as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'soldiers left cold by' is the wordplay.
'soldiers' becomes 'TA' (abbreviation for Territorial Army).
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'cold' becomes 'C' (abbreviation, eg on taps).
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'ta'+'l'+'c'='TALC'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for talc that I've seen before include "Baby powder" , "In brief, popular body powder" , "Mica - scented body powder" , "Powdered substance" , "Bathroom powder (abbr)" .)