Rumour involving listeners covered in dried grass (7)
I believe the answer is:
hearsay
'rumour' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'listeners covered in dried grass' is the wordplay.
'listeners' becomes 'ears' (body parts which listen).
'covered in' indicates putting letters inside.
'dried grass' becomes 'hay' (I've seen this before).
'ears' placed inside 'hay' is 'HEARSAY'.
'involving' is the link.
(Other definitions for hearsay that I've seen before include "rumoured" , "speculation" , "Gossip or idle talk - it's not evidence" , "product of grapevine" , "Kind of rumour, makes bad evidence" .)