Stop copper interrupting gathering, a gathering to eat (8)
I believe the answer is:
barbecue
'a gathering to eat' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'stop copper interrupting gathering' is the wordplay.
'stop' becomes 'bar' (bar can mean to stop or prevent).
'copper' becomes 'Cu' (Cu is the chemical symbol for copper).
'interrupting' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'gathering' becomes 'bee' (bee is a kind of gathering).
'cu' inserted into 'bee' is 'becue'.
'bar'+'becue'='BARBECUE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for barbecue that I've seen before include "Meal cooked outside" , "Outdoor cookery" , "Grill over an open fire" , "Outdoor party (full of sizzle?)" , "Alfresco meal" .)