Stingy type is irrational, love held in contempt (8)
I believe the answer is:
scorpion
'stingy type' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot see how they can define each other.
'irrational love held in contempt' is the wordplay.
'irrational' becomes 'pi' (an irrational number).
'love' becomes 'o' (love means zero in tennis).
'held in' indicates putting letters inside.
'contempt' becomes 'scorn' (synonyms).
'pi'+'o'='pio'
'pio' inserted within 'scorn' is 'SCORPION'.
'is' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scorpion that I've seen before include "Stinger with a long tail" , "Poisonous arachnid" , "Creature with a sting in its tail" , "Eight sign of Zodiac, kind of spider" , "Sting-tailed creature" .)