Solemn procession when no sign of an early spring? (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
dead march
'solemn procession' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how they can define each other.
'no sign of an early spring?' is the wordplay.
'no sign of an' becomes 'dead' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'early spring?' becomes 'March' (first month of spring).
'dead'+'march'='DEAD-MARCH'
'when' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dead march that I've seen before include "Piece of solemn music for a military funeral" , "Dispatch notes" , "Funeral pace by army escort" , "Music suitable for a funeral procession" , "serious strains" .)