Peer dates fools in Dire Straits? (9)
I believe the answer is:
desperate
'in dire straits?' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'peer dates fools' is the wordplay.
'fools' is an anagram indicator (I've seen this in other clues).
'peer'+'dates'='peerdates'
'peerdates' with letters rearranged gives 'DESPERATE'.
(Other definitions for desperate that I've seen before include "Extremely dangerous (situation)" , "Reckless" , "Hopeless; extremely bad" , "Miserable" , "Having lost all hope" .)