Oat fancy after stew is something hard to handle (3,6)
I believe the answer is:
hot potato
'something hard to handle' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'oat fancy after stew' is the wordplay.
'fancy' indicates an anagram.
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'stew' becomes 'hotpot' (I've seen this before).
'oat' with letters rearranged gives 'ato'.
'ato' put after 'hotpot' is 'HOT POTATO'.
'is' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hot potato that I've seen before include "often being seen in a jacket" , "Situation likely to cause trouble, like thermal spud" , "controversial political issue?" , "Controversial issue (colloq.)" , "Troublesome situation concerning thermal spud" .)