Month I lay naked in the shade (5)
I believe the answer is:
sepia
'shade' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'month i lay naked' is the wordplay.
'month' becomes 'sep' (abbreviation for September).
'naked' indicates the central letters.
The central letter of 'lay' is 'a'.
'sep'+'i'+'a'='SEPIA'
'in the' is the link.
(Other definitions for sepia that I've seen before include "Reddish-brown; cuttlefish ink" , "Former photographic pigment" , "tone of pictures?" , "cuttle" , "Brown tint" .)