Well, I will get the salesman a drink in return (8)
I believe the answer is:
aperitif
'well i' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how one could define the other.
'will get the salesman a drink in return' is the wordplay.
'will get' becomes 'fi' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'the salesman' becomes 'rep' (sales representative).
'drink' becomes 'it'.
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'return' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'fi'+'rep'+'a'='firepa'
'firepa' enclosing 'it' is 'fitirepa'.
'fitirepa' written backwards gives 'APERITIF'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for aperitif that I've seen before include "alcohol before meal" , "Drink stimulating the appetite" , "it leads to blow-out" , "appetizer" , "Preliminary drink" .)