Barman or detective gets to switch something with a sting in its tail (8)
I believe the answer is:
scorpion
'to switch something with a sting in its tail' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'barman or detective' is the wordplay.
'barman' becomes 'sc' (I've seen this in other clues).
'detective' becomes 'pion' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'sc'+'or'+'pion'='SCORPION'
'gets' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scorpion that I've seen before include "can sting one" , "Poisonous thing" , "Desert arachnid" , "Poisonous arachnid" , "Eight sign of Zodiac, kind of spider" .)