Seafood so cooked, I had men joining the Marines (9)
I believe the answer is:
thermidor
'seafood so cooked' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'i had men joining the marines' is the wordplay.
'i had' becomes 'i'd' (contraction).
'men' becomes 'OR' (Other Ranks: non-commissioned soldiers).
'joining' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'marines' becomes 'RM' (abbreviation for 'Royal Marines').
'id'+'or'='idor'
'the'+'rm'='therm'
'idor' put after 'therm' is 'THERMIDOR'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for thermidor that I've seen before include "month of revolution" , "Method of cooking lobster" , "month in Paris once?" , "Revolutionary month (of the lobster?)" .)