Sleeveless garment permitted to a soldier (5)
I believe the answer is:
gilet
'sleeveless garment' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'permitted to a soldier' is the wordplay.
'permitted' becomes 'let' (to let something happen is to permit it).
'to a' means one lot of letters go next to another (I've seen this in other clues).
'soldier' becomes 'gi' (GI can mean a US soldier).
'let' after 'gi' is 'GILET'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gilet that I've seen before include "apparel" , "Body-warmer" , "Type of jacket" , "Waistcoat" , "Sleeveless padded jacket" .)