Untied swimmer in European country (9)
I believe the answer is:
freelance
'untied' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'swimmer in european country' is the wordplay.
'swimmer' becomes 'eel' (eel is a type of fish).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'european country' becomes 'France' (country in Europe).
'eel' inserted within 'france' is 'FREELANCE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for freelance that I've seen before include "Writer or artist who sells services to different employers" , "not regularly employed" , "Self-employed worker for hire" , "Not tied to employer" , "Medieval mercenary" .)