Wrong? French department's suffering with pretty random marking (13)
I believe the answer is:
tortoiseshell
'pretty random marking' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how one could define the other.
'wrong? french department's suffering' is the wordplay.
'wrong?' becomes 'tort' (legal term).
'french department's' becomes 'Oise's'.
'suffering' becomes 'hell' (hell can mean a terrible ordeal).
'tort'+'oises'+'hell'='TORTOISESHELL'
'with' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tortoiseshell that I've seen before include "Domestic cat mottled in brownish-yellow and black" , "Butterfly - yellow-brown mottled material" , "Mottled plated ornamental substance" , "Domestic cat - or little shoes (anag)" , "The case of the slow-moving" .)