Crossword Genius

After first half of sandwich, eats fish (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sardines

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'fish' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'after first half of sandwich eats' is the wordplay.
'after first half of sandwich' becomes 'sar' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'eats' becomes 'dines' (dining is a kind of eating).
'sar'+'dines'='SARDINES'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sardines that I've seen before include "Squash-together party game" , "Young pilchards" , "Cumulative hiding game" , "Children's game - fish" , "Small fish, usually canned" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.