Do they have piercing eyes? Just the opposite (7)
I believe the answer is:
needles
'do they' is the definition.
The definition suggests a plural noun which matches the answer.
'have piercing eyes? just the opposite' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'have' could be 'need' (synonyms) and 'need' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'les' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for needles that I've seen before include "styluses" , "is irritating" , "Conifer leaves" , "Stacks of chalk" , "Annoys the pointed implements?" .)