Dark wood inlay in marquetry no better when raised (5)
I believe the answer is:
ebony
'dark wood' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'in marquetry no better when raised' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates a hidden word.
'when raised' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (in a down clue, letters go up).
'ynobe' is hidden within 'marquetry no better'.
'ynobe' reversed gives 'EBONY'.
'inlay' acts as a link.
This may not be right. It may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ebony that I've seen before include "Material for key" , "Hard dark-coloured wood" , "'Hard, dark wood (5)'" , "Wood - Boyne (anag)" , "Heavy hard wood, usually black" .)
