Showed interest when priced a hundred less (5)
I believe the answer is:
pried
'showed interest' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with communicating as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'priced a hundred less' is the wordplay.
'a hundred' becomes 'C' (Roman numeral).
'less' indicates named letters should be taken away (less can mean minus).
'priced' with 'c' taken out is 'PRIED'.
'when' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pried that I've seen before include "acted inquisitively" , "Speaking of sin" , "Made intrusive enquiries" , "Snooped" , "became inquisitive" .)