Wise to swallow medicine when leaks happen (8)
I believe the answer is:
spillage
'leaks happen' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'wise to swallow medicine' is the wordplay.
'wise' becomes 'sage' (similar in meaning).
'to swallow' indicates putting letters inside.
'medicine' becomes 'pill' (pill is a kind of medicine).
'sage' placed around 'pill' is 'SPILLAGE'.
'when' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spillage that I've seen before include "waste material" , "result of accident" , "Something accidentally lost" , "Discharge" , "loss of valuable resource?" .)