Hint: Octopus squirts this fish (7)

I believe the answer is:

inkling

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

'hint' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'octopus squirts this fish' is the wordplay.
'octopus squirts' becomes 'ink' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'this fish' becomes 'ling' (ling is a kind of fish).
'ink'+'ling'='INKLING'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for inkling that I've seen before include "Glimmering of notion" , "Slightest idea" , "Thought" , "Faint notion" , "Conception" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.