Signal for one to knock hard after ring? (9)
I believe the answer is:
telegraph
'ring?' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?
'signal for one to knock hard' is the wordplay.
'signal' becomes 'tel' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'for one' becomes 'eg' (both can mean 'for example').
'to knock' becomes 'rap' ('rap' can be a synonym of 'knock').
'hard' becomes 'h' (abbreviation used in pencil classifications).
'tel'+'eg'+'rap'+'h'='TELEGRAPH'
'after' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for telegraph that I've seen before include "System of communication over wires" , "Means of communication" , "Signal" , "A scoreboard" , "Daily" .)