Guidance system dropping van back - it comes shortly before Sunday (3)
I believe the answer is:
sat
'it comes shortly before sunday' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'guidance system dropping van back' is the wordplay.
'guidance system' becomes 'sat nav' (I've seen this before).
'dropping' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'back' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'van' written backwards gives 'nav'.
'satnav' with 'nav' taken away is 'SAT'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sat that I've seen before include "Relaxed" , "Was sitting" , "Took (examination)" , "Pulled up a 29 down" , "Took (an exam)" .)