Japanese scoff, upsetting setters on docked vessel (5)
I believe the answer is:
sushi
'japanese scoff upsetting' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'setters on docked vessel' is the wordplay.
'setters' becomes 'us' (the crossword setter and their colleagues).
'on' indicates putting letters inside.
'docked' means to remove the last letter (to dock can mean to remove the tail of an animal).
'vessel' becomes 'ship' (ship is a kind of vessel).
'ship' with its final letter taken off is 'shi'.
'us' going into 'shi' is 'SUSHI'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sushi that I've seen before include "cold food" , "Raw fish dishes" , "Cold rice balls with raw fish" , "fare from Japan" , "rice dishes" .)