Branch without the first letter - ranch? (3)
I believe the answer is:
arm
'branch' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'without the first letter ranch?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'first' could be 'a' (first letter of the alphabet) and 'a' is present in the answer.
'letter' could be 'r' and 'r' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'm' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for arm that I've seen before include "Human limb" , "Ram into limb" , "Provide with weapons" , "Supply weapons" , "Equip with weapons" .)