Suggest clash with sweetheart relates to items found in dining room (9)
I believe the answer is:
tableware
'relates to items found in dining room' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'suggest clash with sweetheart' is the wordplay.
'suggest' becomes 'table' (as in tabling a motion).
'clash with' becomes 'war' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'sweetheart' becomes 'e' (the middle letter or heart of 'sweet').
'table'+'war'+'e'='TABLEWARE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tableware that I've seen before include "Bowls, for example" , "Crockery, cutlery, etc." , "knives, etc" , "Dinner service" .)