Baltic supplier departs dismissed by stranger (4)
I believe the answer is:
oder
'baltic supplier' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how they can define each other.
'departs dismissed by stranger' is the wordplay.
'departs' becomes 'd' (common abbreviation e.g. train timetables).
'dismissed by' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'stranger' becomes 'odder' (I've seen this in another clue).
'odder' with 'd' taken away is 'ODER'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for oder that I've seen before include "European banker" , "River that, with the Neisse, forms the German-Polish border" , "River on border of Poland and Germany" , "river, one in central Europe" , "River flowing into the Baltic" .)