Intimate shot of poor quality (6)
I believe the answer is:
paltry
'poor quality' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?
'intimate shot' is the wordplay.
'intimate' becomes 'pal' (both can mean a friend).
'shot' becomes 'try' (both can mean an attempt).
'pal'+'try'='PALTRY'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for paltry that I've seen before include "Measly, trifling" , "Petty - trifling" , "Mean, petty" , "Worthless or trivial" , "Trivial, comtemptible" .)