Well-loved, but at some cost (4)
I believe the answer is:
dear
'well-loved but at some cost' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'loved but at some cost' is the wordplay.
'loved but' becomes 'dea' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'at' says to put letters next to each other.
'some' says to take the centre.
'cost' becomes 'are' (I've seen this in another clue).
The central letter of 'are' is 'r'.
'dea'+'r'='DEAR'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dear that I've seen before include "love" , "Precious" , "letter opener" , "Expensive -- honey" , "Needing plenty of bread" .)