I had a setback at work, but they're calming (7)
I believe the answer is:
opiates
'they're calming' is the definition.
The definition suggests an adverb but the answer is not.
'i had a setback at work' is the wordplay.
'had a setback' becomes 'ates' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'at' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'work' becomes 'op' (operation, work done in an operating theatre).
'i'+'ates'='iates'
'iates' put after 'op' is 'OPIATES'.
'but' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for opiates that I've seen before include "Narcotic drugs" , "Is a poet (anag.)" , "Sedative drugs" , "Makes dull" , "Poppy-derived drugs" .)