Around the end of June, he had to get something paid (4)
I believe the answer is:
heed
'around the end of june he had to get something paid' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't see how one could define the other.
'around the end of june he had' is the wordplay.
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'the end of' indicates one should take the final letters.
'he had' becomes 'he'd'.
The final letter of 'june' is 'e'.
'e' inserted inside 'hed' is 'HEED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for heed that I've seen before include "Take to heart" , "Take note of" , "Caution" , "Be mindful of" , "Regard" .)