Hunter returning in the morning in good spirits (4)
I believe the answer is:
puma
'good spirits' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how they can define each other.
'hunter returning in the morning' is the wordplay.
'hunter' becomes 'pu' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'returning in' is a reversal indicator.
'the morning' becomes 'am' (as in pu:00 AM).
'am' in reverse letter order is 'ma'.
'pu'+'ma'='PUMA'
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for puma that I've seen before include "Panther" , "American wild cat" , "International rugby player" , "Large American cat" , "Large mountain cat" .)