Crossword Genius

Wood turns tail, having left instrument in the kitchen (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

timbrel

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'instrument in the kitchen' is the definition.
'timbrel' can be an answer for 'instrument' (timbrel is a kind of instrument). I'm unsure of the 'in the kitchen' bit.

'wood turns tail having left' is the wordplay.
'wood turns tail' becomes 'timbre' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'having' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'timbre'+'l'='TIMBREL'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for timbrel that I've seen before include "Biblical percussion instrument" , "Hand drum" , "old instrument" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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