Story of some Yank joining the navy (4)
I believe the answer is:
yarn
'story' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'some yank joining the navy' is the wordplay.
'some' becomes 'a'.
'yank' becomes 'y' (this could be a standard abbreviation of which I'm unaware).
'joining' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'the navy' becomes 'rn' (abbreviation for Royal Navy).
'a' after 'y' is 'ya'.
'ya'+'rn'='YARN'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for yarn that I've seen before include "that'll keep you in stitches?" , "Anecdote" , "Spun thread or wool or tall tale" , "Long involved story" , "A long tale" .)