Long fish eaten by small fish without effort (6)
I believe the answer is:
freely
'without effort' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adverbs. Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'long fish eaten by small fish' is the wordplay.
'long fish' becomes 'eel' (I've seen this before).
'eaten by' indicates putting letters inside (inserted letters get eaten).
'small fish' becomes 'fry' (I've seen this in another clue).
'eel' inserted within 'fry' is 'FREELY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for freely that I've seen before include "Without let or hindrance" , "Without restriction or payment" , "Without compulsion" , "boldly" , "easily" .)