Neckcloth wanted — I freeze (5)
I believe the answer is:
amice
'neckcloth' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'wanted i freeze' is the wordplay.
'wanted i' becomes 'am' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'freeze' becomes 'ice' (as in water freezing to become ice).
'am'+'ice'='AMICE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for amice that I've seen before include "Priest's garment" , "hood" , "Wrap" , "church vestment" , "priestly garment?" .)