Ray act badly? I would follow showing supporter in draped female form (8)
I believe the answer is:
caryatid
'supporter in draped female form' is the definition.
I know that 'supporter', 'draped' and 'female' all relate to this answer. I also know that both the answer and definition are singular nouns
'ray act badly? i would follow' is the wordplay.
'badly?' indicates an anagram (I've seen 'badly' mean this).
'i would' becomes 'I'd'.
'follow' says to put letters next to each other.
'ray'+'act'='rayact'
'rayact' is an anagram of 'caryat'.
'caryat'+'id'='CARYATID'
'showing' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for caryatid that I've seen before include "supporting woman that's stony" , "Column in female form" , "Pillar in female form" , "Sculptured female figure as support pillar" , "She gives support in her column" .)