It opens and closes many scandals (4)
I believe the answer is:
gate
'it opens and closes many scandals' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'it' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'gae' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gate that I've seen before include "Number attending" , "Frame for closing an entrance" , "Entrance (money)" , "Attendance; entrance" , "Confine to college" .)