Take such characters here for Lent (9)
I believe the answer is:
alternate
'take such characters here for lent' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how they can define each other.
'take such characters here for lent' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'take' could be 'r' (abbreviation for 'recipe', Latin for 'take') and 'r' is located in the answer.
an anagram of 'lent' is 'lten' which is present in the left over letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alternate that I've seen before include "Occurring in turn repeatedly" , "Happen in turns, rotate" , "Take turns" , "Flip" , "Substitute" .)