Pledge attempt to seize duke's equipment (8)
I believe the answer is:
gadgetry
'equipment' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'pledge attempt to seize duke's' is the wordplay.
'pledge' becomes 'gage' (I've seen this before).
'attempt' becomes 'try' (synonyms).
'to seize' indicates putting letters inside.
'duke' becomes 'd'.
'gage'+'try'='gagetry'
'gagetry' placed around 'd' is 'GADGETRY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gadgetry that I've seen before include "Mechanical tools" , "The making of small ingenious devices" , "gismos" , "Small ingenious devices in general" .)