Approached by a couple of beggars in need! (6)
I believe the answer is:
neared
'approached' is the definition.
('near' can be a synonym of 'approach')
'a couple of beggars in need' is the wordplay.
'a couple of beggars' becomes 'ar' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'ar' put into 'need' is 'NEARED'.
'by' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for neared that I've seen before include "Drew nigh" , "Approached, drew close" , "Approached, came close" , "Got closer" , "Drew closer to" .)