Comic role in Shakespeare: slip up dropping one pole (8)
I believe the answer is:
falstaff
'comic' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'role in shakespeare slip up dropping one pole' is the wordplay.
'role in shakespeare' becomes 'lf' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'slip up' says the letters should be written backwards (I've seen 'slipping up' mean this (in a down clue, letters go up)).
'dropping' is an insertion indicator.
'one' becomes 'a' (a thing is one thing).
'pole' becomes 'staff'.
'lf' backwards is 'fl'.
'fl' placed around 'a' is 'fal'.
'fal'+'staff'='FALSTAFF'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for falstaff that I've seen before include "Rogue knight" , "stout fellow" , "Shakespeare's Sir John" , "big role at Stratford" , "Dissolute Shakespearean - Verdi opera" .)