Spitting Image entertaining a US novelist (5)
I believe the answer is:
twain
'us novelist' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how one could define the other.
'spitting image entertaining a' is the wordplay.
'spitting image' becomes 'twin' (I've seen this in another clue).
'entertaining' is an insertion indicator (inviting in, as for dinner).
'twin' going around 'a' is 'TWAIN'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for twain that I've seen before include "Mark ..... created Huckleberry Finn" , "Archaic word for two" , "Mark in American literature" , "Mark ___ , American writer" , "Kipling never expected to meet" .)