Noble gong that can have a piercing ring? (7)
I believe the answer is:
earlobe
'noble gong that can have a piercing ring?' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot see how one could define the other.
'noble gong' is the wordplay.
'noble' becomes 'earl' (earl is a kind of noble).
'gong' becomes 'OBE' (Order of the British Empire award or 'gong').
'earl'+'obe'='EARLOBE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for earlobe that I've seen before include "place to hang jewelry" , "Part of body" , "Often-pierced flap" , "Fleshy part of hearing organ" , "low part of organ" .)