Hide southern relations (4)
I believe the answer is:
skin
'hide' is the definition.
('skin' can be a synonym of 'hide')
'southern relations' is the wordplay.
'southern' becomes 's' (abbreviation).
'relations' becomes 'kin' (I've seen this before**).
's'+'kin'='SKIN'
(Other definitions for skin that I've seen before include "What keeps you in" , "Hide - flay" , "Protective body covering" , "Fell" , "Living tissue" .)