Private Atkins discards a medal that's not the real thing (3)
I believe the answer is:
toy
'real thing' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'private atkins discards a medal that's not the' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'not' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is found in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'y' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for toy that I've seen before include "Small breed" , "Child's amusement" , "Miniature (dog)" , "A child's plaything" , "One of spelt out words" .)