Lamb, say, understood encounter as stated (3,4)
I believe the answer is:
red meat
'lamb' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?
'understood encounter as stated' is the wordplay.
'understood' becomes 'red' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'encounter' becomes 'meet' (synonyms).
'as stated' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'meet' sounds like 'meat'.
'red'+'meat'='RED MEAT'
'say' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for red meat that I've seen before include "beef, say?" , "Lamb perhaps" , "Beef is one" , "Beef, lamb or mutton before cooking" , "Soak up" .)