Force into nest if scraps get tense (7)
I believe the answer is:
stiffen
'tense' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'force into nest if scraps' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'force' could be 'f' (symbol used in Physics e.g. f=ma) and 'f' is present in the answer.
'if' is present in the answer.
an anagram of 'nest' is 'sten' which is present in the remaining letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'get' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stiffen that I've seen before include "Give strength to" , "Become more rigid" , "Make unbending" , "Reinforce" , "Make rigid or inflexible" .)