What to paint with when one has nothing to eat? (6)
I believe the answer is:
iodine
'what to paint with' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'one has nothing to eat?' is the wordplay.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'has' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'nothing' becomes 'O' (looks like zero - 0).
'to eat?' becomes 'dine' (to dine is to eat a meal).
'i'+'o'+'dine'='IODINE'
'when' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for iodine that I've seen before include "Mild antiseptic" , "Solution of a halogen in ethyl alcohol used on wounds as an antiseptic" , "Solution applied to wounds as an antiseptic" , "Nonmetallic element in seaweed" , "Disinfectant made from seaweed" .)