Bishop’s ship’s woody exterior (4)
I believe the answer is:
bark
'woody exterior' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how they can define each other.
'bishop's ship's' is the wordplay.
'bishop' becomes 'B' (abbreviation used in chess).
'ship' becomes 'ark' (I've seen this in other clues).
'b'+'ark'='BARK'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bark that I've seen before include "Cry; surface of tree" , "Bay" , "Sound from animal < having part of tree" , "Yap" , "Dog's cry" .)