Attempting to get fish after ordinary food (8)
I believe the answer is:
tackling
'attempting' is the definition.
(tackle can mean to attempt to deal with something)
'fish after ordinary food' is the wordplay.
'fish' becomes 'ling' (ling is a kind of fish).
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'ordinary food' becomes 'tack' (informal term for food. I am not sure about the 'ordinary' bit.).
'ling' after 'tack' is 'TACKLING'.
'to get' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tackling that I've seen before include "Dealing with (a problem)" , "Undertaking, dealing with" , "Taking on the challenge" , "Taking the bull by the horns" .)