Alternative name for E, everybody assumed, is going to be a damp squib (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
fall flat
'alternative name' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with social activities as well as being verbs in their base form.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?
'e everybody assumed is going to be a damp squib' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'everybody' could be 'all' (all people) and 'all' is found in the answer.
'e' could be 'fflat' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'fflat' is found in the remaining letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'for' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for fall flat that I've seen before include "produce no response" , "offer no excitement" , "Fail completely to produce the intended effect" , "Fail to impress" , "Fail to get result - topple horizontally" .)
