Coven loses initial irritations (6)
I believe the answer is:
itches
'irritations' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both feelings as well as being plural nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'coven loses initial' is the wordplay.
'coven' becomes 'witches'.
'loses initial' means to remove the first letter (I've seen 'losing initial' mean this).
'witches' with its initial letter taken off is 'ITCHES'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for itches that I've seen before include "Has uncomfortable tingling sensation" , "Ethics (anag)" , "causes irritation" , "Feels tingling sensation in skin" , "They need to be scratched" .)