City to west end of the lake is drier (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
bath towel
'is drier' is the definition.
'city to west end of the lake' is the wordplay.
'city' becomes 'bath' (English city).
'west' becomes 'W' (abbreviation).
'end of' suggests the final letters.
'lake' becomes 'L' (geographical abbreviation).
The last letter of 'the' is 'e'.
'bath'+'to'+'w'+'e'+'l'='BATH-TOWEL'
(Other definitions for bath towel that I've seen before include "Large water remover" , "gets one off the rails perhaps" , "Wipers?" , "Large piece of absorbent cloth" , "Absorbent material" .)