Cleric entertaining nonconformist leader shot at table (6)
I believe the answer is:
cannon
'shot at table' is the definition.
(type of shot at a snooker table)
'cleric entertaining nonconformist leader' is the wordplay.
'cleric' becomes 'canon' (I've seen this before).
'entertaining' indicates putting letters inside.
'nonconformist leader' becomes 'n' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'canon' going around 'n' is 'CANNON'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cannon that I've seen before include "Large artillery piece" , "Big gun" , "The large gun sounds like a church dignitary" , "Gun - billiards' shot" , "Weapon firing large balls" .)