Waterproof fabric a Republican chap stored in container (9)
I believe the answer is:
tarpaulin
'waterproof fabric' is the definition.
(I know that tarpaulin is a type of waterproof fabric)
'a republican chap stored in container' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is present in the answer.
'republican' could be 'r' (abbreviation in US politics) and 'r' is found in the answer.
'chap' could be 'paul' and 'paul' is located in the answer.
'in' is within the answer.
A single letter 't' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tarpaulin that I've seen before include "Waterproofed canvas" , "Strong waterproof sheet" , "Waterproof canvas used as covering" , "waterproof material" , "sailor's hat" .)