Attempt nursing former queen where skin is treated (7)
I believe the answer is:
tannery
'where skin is treated' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot see how one could define the other.
'attempt nursing former queen' is the wordplay.
'attempt' becomes 'try' (synonyms).
'nursing' is an insertion indicator.
'former queen' becomes 'anne' (Queen Anne, 18th-century queen. I am not sure about the 'former' bit.).
'try' placed around 'anne' is 'TANNERY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tannery that I've seen before include "Leather factory" , "Leather-processing plant" , "Rather like sun lamp, arguably" , "where hides are treated" , "Where hides are made into leather" .)