Retiring female loves husband, maybe a bit of an ass (4)
I believe the answer is:
hoof
'a bit of an ass' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'retiring female loves husband' is the wordplay.
'retiring' says the letters should be written backwards.
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'loves' becomes 'oo' (two O's - 'love' means zero in tennis).
'husband' becomes 'h' (abbreviation).
'f'+'oo'+'h'='fooh'
'fooh' back-to-front is 'HOOF'.
'maybe' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hoof that I've seen before include "Foot of ungulate" , "in impromptu manner, on this" , "Part of animal's foot" , "Horse's horny foot casing" , "Kick - dance - part of a horse" .)