Pal cries out for a breather (8)
I believe the answer is:
spiracle
'a breather' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot see how they can define each other.
'pal cries out' is the wordplay.
'out' indicates an anagram (out can mean wrong or inaccurate).
'pal'+'cries'='palcries'
'palcries' is an anagram of 'SPIRACLE'.
'for' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spiracle that I've seen before include "Breathing space" , "Whale's blow-hole" , "passage through rock" , "Opening" .)