Chew the fat you ate pre-starters (3)
I believe the answer is:
yap
'chew the fat' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't see how one could define the other.
'you ate pre-starters' is the wordplay.
'starters' says to take the initial letters.
The first letters of 'you ate pre' is 'YAP'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for yap that I've seen before include "Bark in quick sharp bursts" , "Yelp" , "Shrill bark; rhymes with chart" , "Complain shrilly" , "Small dog's sound" .)