Afterwards take a novice to the side (7)
I believe the answer is:
lateral
'the side' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'afterwards take a novice' is the wordplay.
'afterwards' becomes 'later' (synonyms).
'take' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'novice' becomes 'l' (as in a learner driver with L-plates on their car).
'later'+'a'+'l'='LATERAL'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for lateral that I've seen before include "One type of thinking" , "Sort of thinking" , "Edgeways" , "to one side" , "Of, at or towards the sides (7)" .)