Evoke trendy dog (5)
I believe the answer is:
incur
'evoke' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs in their base form, I cannot understand how one could define the other.
'trendy dog' is the wordplay.
'trendy' becomes 'in' ('in' can mean fashionable).
'dog' becomes 'cur' (both can mean a despicable person).
'in'+'cur'='INCUR'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for incur that I've seen before include "Bring upon oneself - be liable for" , "Bring something unpleasant on oneself (5)" , "Assume" , "Bring on oneself, probably unpleasant" , "Become liable to (something) through one's actions" .)