Wire guards about germanium and sulphur (5)
I believe the answer is:
cages
'wire guards' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'about germanium and sulphur' is the wordplay.
'about' becomes 'ca' (abbreviation for 'circa').
'germanium' becomes 'Ge' (Ge is the chemical symbol for germanium).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'sulphur' becomes 'S' (synonyms).
'ca'+'ge'+'s'='CAGES'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cages that I've seen before include "Enclosures made or wire or metal bars" , "prisons" , "Locks up" , "Wild animal enclosures" , "Enclosures for animals" .)