Death-like fish a man returned (7)
I believe the answer is:
charnel
'death-like' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'fish a man returned' is the wordplay.
'fish' becomes 'char' (char is a kind of fish).
'a man' becomes 'len' (short for Leonard).
'returned' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'len' in reverse letter order is 'nel'.
'char'+'nel'='CHARNEL'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for charnel that I've seen before include "ghastly" , "Vault where bones are deposited" , "A - house is where bones are piled" .)