Comedy hits given credit (9)
I believe the answer is:
slapstick
'comedy' is the definition.
(slapstick is a kind of comedy)
'hits given credit' is the wordplay.
'hits' becomes 'slaps' (**).
'given' says to put letters next to each other.
'credit' becomes 'tick' (I've seen this before).
'slaps'+'tick'='SLAPSTICK'
(Other definitions for slapstick that I've seen before include "That's laughable" , "Knockabout farce" , "Boisterous comedy based on actions rather than words" , "laugh" , "Comedy with physical antics" .)