A quiet pain starts first from these tough guys (7)
I believe the answer is:
apaches
'these tough guys' is the definition.
The definition suggests an adverb but the answer is not.
'a quiet pain starts first' is the wordplay.
'quiet' becomes 'p' (music symbol for 'piano', ie soft or quiet).
'pain' becomes 'ache' (ache is a kind of pain).
'starts first' becomes 's' (1st letter of 'starts').
'a'+'p'+'ache'+'s'='APACHES'
'from' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for apaches that I've seen before include "Native Americans" , "Indians" .)