Expect a pittance, I snarled (10)
I believe the answer is:
anticipate
'expect' is the definition.
(anticipating is a kind of expecting)
'a pittance i snarled' is the wordplay.
'snarled' indicates an anagram (to snarl can mean to entangle or twist).
'pittance'+'i'='pittancei'
'pittancei' with letters rearranged gives 'nticipate'.
'a'+'nticipate'='ANTICIPATE'
(Other definitions for anticipate that I've seen before include "Foresee" , "Predict - ape in attic (anag)" , "Perceive or act in advance" , "Look forward to" , "Jump the gun" .)