Collection of clocks from across the country and across the years? (8,8,7)
I believe the answer is:
national portrait gallery
'years?' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?
'collection of clocks from across the country and across' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'collection' could be 'gallery' (I have seen 'Collection of art ' mean 'gallery' so perhaps 'collection' could also mean 'gallery') and 'gallery' is found within the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is found within the answer.
'from' could be 'in' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'in' is located in the leftover letters.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for national portrait gallery that I've seen before include "faces hanging here" , "London attraction" .)