Town in Mali principally but strangely enthralling us? (8)
I believe the answer is:
timbuktu
'town' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both locations as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'in mali principally but strangely enthralling us?' is the wordplay.
'principally' says to take the initial letters.
'strangely' is an anagram indicator.
'enthralling us?' becomes 'ktu' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
The initial letters of 'in mali' is 'im'.
'im'+'but'='imbut'
'imbut' anagrammed gives 'timbu'.
'timbu'+'ktu'='TIMBUKTU'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for timbuktu that I've seen before include "Desert city in Mali" , "Town in nine ac fabled for its remoteness" , "Colloquially, a distant place" , "remote location" , "Oh, go to - very remote town in Mali, Africa?" .)