Am I competent to insert open criticism and be friendly? (8)
I believe the answer is:
amicable
'be friendly?' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'am i competent to insert open' is the wordplay.
'competent' becomes 'able' (similar in meaning).
'to' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'insert open' becomes 'c' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'able' put after 'c' is 'cable'.
'am'+'i'+'cable'='AMICABLE'
'criticism and' acts as a link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for amicable that I've seen before include "not hostile" , "Easy to approach" , "Male cab I change to, just to be friendly" , "cordial" , "Friendly, good-humoured" .)