City castle ice sternly covers (9)
I believe the answer is:
leicester
'city' is the definition.
(Leicester is an example)
'castle ice sternly covers' is the wordplay.
'covers' says the answer is hidden in the clue (I've seen 'covering' mean this).
'LEICESTER' is hidden within 'castle ice sternly'.
(Other definitions for leicester that I've seen before include "County town on the river Soar" , "Sheep - cheese" , "East Midlands city, home of the National Space Centre" , "At Richmond Palace a favourite" , "Queen's favourite" .)