Well-respected Wade meets Evert over drinks (8)
I believe the answer is:
esteemed
'well-respected' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'wade meets evert over drinks' is the wordplay.
'drinks' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (words in the clue have absorbed the answer).
'over' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'demeetse' can be found hidden inside 'wade meets evert'.
'demeetse' reversed gives 'ESTEEMED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for esteemed that I've seen before include "Prized" , "Had great respect for" , "Regarded with respect" , "Respected, admired" , "Respected and valued, like customer" .)