Hair gripper made by twisting metal (3)
I believe the answer is:
nit
'hair gripper' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'twisting metal' is the wordplay.
'twisting' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (letters twist back).
'metal' becomes 'tin' (tin is a kind of metal).
'tin' written backwards gives 'NIT'.
'made by' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nit that I've seen before include "Louse-egg" , "Louse; fool" , "Egg of parasitic insect" , "Foolish person" , "Louse's egg - berk" .)