Handsome chap, though exhausted, tried to spread gossip (4,3,4)
I believe the answer is:
dish the dirt
'spread gossip' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
I can't explain the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dish the dirt that I've seen before include "Spread scandal (colloq.)" , "Distribute spiteful gossip" , "Spread malicious gossip (informal)" , "Spread (filthy?) gossip" , "Reveal secrets or intimacies about others" .)