Grass useful in raising an animal? (4)
I believe the answer is:
reed
'grass useful in' is the definition.
'reed' can be an answer for 'grass' (type of grass plant). I'm not sure about the 'useful in' bit.
'raising an animal?' is the wordplay.
'raising' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (in a down clue, letters go up).
'an animal?' becomes 'deer' (deer is a type of animal).
'deer' back-to-front is 'REED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for reed that I've seen before include "Vibrator in the mouthpiece of a wind instrument" , "Oliver perhaps" , "It grows in water or marshy land" , "Grassy plant of wet areas" , "Tall perennial grass" .)