Keep quiet pinching gold, alone in the Taj Mahal? (9)
I believe the answer is:
mausoleum
'taj mahal?' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'keep quiet pinching gold alone in' is the wordplay.
'keep quiet' becomes 'mum' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'pinching' means one lot of letters goes inside another (taking inside).
'gold' becomes 'Au' (Au is the chemical symbol for gold).
'alone' becomes 'sole' (synonyms).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'mum' enclosing 'au' is 'mauum'.
'mauum' placed around 'sole' is 'MAUSOLEUM'.
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mausoleum that I've seen before include "Housing for a tomb" , "Great tomb - usual memo (anag)" , "Sepulchre" , "Building for the dead" , "Magnificent tomb or monument" .)