Rigid framework for an exposed strut on a steam ship (5)
I believe the answer is:
truss
'rigid framework' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'an exposed strut on a steam ship' is the wordplay.
'an exposed' says to take the centre (the inside of the word is exposed).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a steam ship' becomes 'ss' (this could be a standard abbreviation which I don't know about).
The centre of 'strut' is 'tru'.
'tru'+'ss'='TRUSS'
'for' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for truss that I've seen before include "Support - bundle - cluster" , "advocate of proper punctuation" , "Bundle of hay or straw" , "Surgical support" , "Bind - structural framework" .)