One after the other having an altercation (2,1,3)
I believe the answer is:
in a row
'one after the other' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'an altercation' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is found within the answer.
'altercation' could be 'row' (I've seen this before) and 'row' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'na' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'having' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for in a row that I've seen before include "One after another" , "Paul --, Swiss artist" , "Like all the pretty maids" , "Lined up" , "running" .)