Crossword Genius

Feel for (smirk) chicken chunks when talking (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sympathise

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'feel for' is the definition.
('feel for'->'sympathize' is in my internal thesaurus and 'ize'->'ise')

I don't understand the remainder of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sympathise that I've seen before include "Express fellow feeling" , "commiserate" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app