Tolstoy heroine, with energy, squeezing figure’s sensitive appendages (8)
I believe the answer is:
antennae
'sensitive appendages' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'tolstoy heroine with energy squeezing figure's' is the wordplay.
'tolstoy heroine' becomes 'Anna' (Anna Karenina in the Tolstoy book of the same name).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'energy' becomes 'e' (physics symbol as in E=mc2).
'squeezing' means one lot of letters goes inside another (squeeze can mean hug or embrace).
'figure' becomes 'ten' (ten is a number or figure).
'anna'+'e'='annae'
'annae' placed around 'ten' is 'ANTENNAE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for antennae that I've seen before include "They feel" , "Transmitting aerials" , "They sense" , "Feelers or aerials" , "They'll pick up signals" .)