Deliver lecture that starts with short story (8)
I believe the answer is:
liberate
'deliver lecture that' is the definition.
'liberate' can be an answer for 'deliver' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the rest of the definition.
'starts with short story' is the wordplay.
'starts' becomes 'berate' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'story' becomes 'lie' (story can mean a fabrication).
'lie' with its last letter removed is 'li'.
'berate' put after 'li' is 'LIBERATE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for liberate that I've seen before include "Set free, as from oppressive authority" , "Deliver" , "Make free" , "Set free, rescue from bondage" , "Set free, release from slavery" .)