Attempted to shift dirt out of an earpiece (5)
I believe the answer is:
tried
'attempted' is the definition.
('try' can be a synonym of 'attempt')
'shift dirt out of an earpiece' is the wordplay.
'shift' indicates anagramming the letters.
'out of' means one lot of letters goes inside another (some letters on the outside of others).
'an earpiece' becomes 'e' (this could be a standard abbreviation of which I'm unaware).
'dirt' with letters rearranged gives 'trid'.
'trid' going around 'e' is 'TRIED'.
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tried that I've seen before include "Essayed" , "Put to the test" , "checked out" , "tasted" , "Sampled" .)