Dear me! Short story with element of value? (8,5)
I believe the answer is:
precious metal
'element of value?' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to property as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'dear me short story' is the wordplay.
'dear' becomes 'precious' (both can mean expensive).
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'story' becomes 'tale' (synonyms).
'tale' with its final letter taken away is 'tal'.
'precious'+'me'+'tal'='PRECIOUS METAL'
'with' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for precious metal that I've seen before include "Platinum, perhaps" , "Eg gold, silver or platinum" , "gold, perhaps" , "no lead!" .)