A fool dined with the Deputy and became anxious (8)
I believe the answer is:
agitated
'anxious' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'a fool dined with the deputy and' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
'fool' could be 'git' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'git' is found within the answer.
'dined' could be 'ate' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'ate' is present in the answer.
A single letter 'd' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'became' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for agitated that I've seen before include "Worked up, flustered" , "Disturbed, shaken" , "caused a stir" , "Upset (by a stirrer?)" , "Shaken - upset - stirred up trouble" .)