Strike with wood cushioned by oaf (4,3)
I believe the answer is:
lash out
'strike' is the definition.
'wood cushioned by oaf' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'wood' could be 'ash' (wood from an ash tree) and 'ash' is found within the answer.
'oaf' could be 'lout' (synonyms) and 'lout' is found within the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'with' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lash out that I've seen before include "Spend extravagantly" , "React aggressively" , "unprovoked attack" , "Spend lots" , "Vigorously attack" .)