Subdue student overwhelmed by rum (8)
I believe the answer is:
strangle
'subdue' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for strangle that I've seen before include "Suppress (an impulse)" , "Kill by squeezing the throat" , "Suppress; choke" , "Asphyxiate, throttle" , "cut off supply of air" .)