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 cannot understand how one could define the other.
'a letter to n ireland?' is the wordplay.
'a letter' becomes 'b' ().
'to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (I've seen this in other clues).
'n ireland?' becomes 'NI' (Northern Ireland).
'b' put after 'ni' is 'NIB'.
'writing' acts as a 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" .)