This may be turned to make girl breathless (8)
I believe the answer is:
windlass
'this' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'be turned to make girl breathless' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'be' could be 'wind' (winding is a kind of being) and 'wind' is found in the answer.
'girl' could be 'lass' (lass can informally mean a girl) and 'lass' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'may' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for windlass that I've seen before include "Dockside winch" , "Pulling devices of rope or chain wound around axle" , "Winch for hoisting an anchor" , "lifting apparatus" , "Drum for reeling in heavy items by rope or chain" .)