Saluting to a good man at home before midnight (8)
I believe the answer is:
toasting
'saluting' is the definition.
('toast' can be a synonym of 'salute')
'to a good man at home before midnight' is the wordplay.
'good man' becomes 'st'.
'at home' becomes 'in' ('in' can be similar in meaning to 'at home').
'before' says to put letters next to each other.
'midnight' becomes 'g'.
'to'+'a'+'st'+'in'+'g'='TOASTING'
(Other definitions for toasting that I've seen before include "Raising glasses" , "Raising one's glass" , "Browning" , "Drinking a health to" .)