Mackintosh possibly breaks - how many bits are missing? (7)
I believe the answer is:
showman
'mackintosh' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how one could define the other.
'breaks how many bits are missing?' is the wordplay.
'breaks' is an insertion indicator.
'bits' says to take the initial letters (I've seen 'bit of' mean this).
'are missing?' becomes 'san' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
The initial letter of 'many' is 'm'.
'how'+'m'='howm'
'howm' placed within 'san' is 'SHOWMAN'.
'possibly' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for showman that I've seen before include "Entertainer" , "Circus or fair manager" , "Person helping to present" , "Circus proprietor" , "Impresario" .)