Mollusc shedding small horny covering (4)
I believe the answer is:
nail
'horny covering' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'mollusc shedding small' is the wordplay.
'mollusc' becomes 'snail' (snail is a kind of mollusc).
'shedding' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'snail' with 's' removed is 'NAIL'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nail that I've seen before include "Fixing pin" , "Amall metal spike" , "Fix with a metal spike" , "Metal pin, hit it on the head" , "Hammer's target" .)