Small figure coming to point in Scottish palace (5)
I believe the answer is:
scone
'scottish palace' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how they can define each other.
'small figure coming to point in' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'figure' becomes 'one' (a numerical figure).
'to point' says to take the initial letters (an end or point of the word).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
The first letter of 'coming' is 'c'.
's'+'one'='sone'
'sone' placed around 'c' is 'SCONE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scone that I've seen before include "Griddle-cake" , "Accompaniment for tea" , "ancient Scottish settlement" , "Tea-time treat" , "Savoury cake" .)