Odd chance of uppity spies earning bread? (8)
I believe the answer is:
focaccia
'bread?' is the definition.
(type of bread)
'odd chance of uppity spies' is the wordplay.
'odd' indicates alternate letters.
'uppity' says the letters should be written backwards (in a down clue, words go 'up').
'spies' becomes 'CIA' (Central Intelligence Agency).
The alternating letters of 'chance' are 'cac'.
'cac'+'of'='cacof'
'cacof' in reverse letter order is 'focac'.
'focac'+'cia'='FOCACCIA'
'earning' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for focaccia that I've seen before include "Type of Italian bread" , "Italian herb bread" , "Italian bread with olive oil and herbs" , "Flat Italian bread" , "cheer in Rome?" .)