Having fun is standard prior to making a connection (8)
I believe the answer is:
partying
'having' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with social activities as well as being present participle verbs.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?
'fun is standard prior to making a connection' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'standard' could be 'par' (standard of play in golf) and 'par' is found in the answer.
'connection' could be 'tying' (tying is a kind of connection) and 'tying' is found within the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for partying that I've seen is " Enjoying oneself at a do".)