Scruff's Northern parody (4)
I believe the answer is:
nape
'scruff's' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'northern parody' is the wordplay.
'northern' becomes 'n' (abbreviation e.g. N. Ireland).
'parody' becomes 'ape' (ape can mean to copy).
'n'+'ape'='NAPE'
(Other definitions for nape that I've seen before include "Girl personifying France" , "sofa" , "It's a pane in the neck" , "Scrag" , "Here's a hairline" .)