Dahl character, not the full pair? The very thing (4)
I believe the answer is:
twit
'dahl' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot see how one could define the other.
'character not the full pair? the very thing' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'character' could be 'w' and 'w' is found in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'thing' could be 'it' and 'it' is found in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for twit that I've seen before include "Silly person (colloq.)" , "Bait - fool" , "Blockhead" , "Silly ass" , "Twerp" .)