At a former time, completed cursory examination (4-4)
I believe the answer is:
once-over
'cursory examination' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'at a former time completed' is the wordplay.
'at a former time' becomes 'once' (I've seen this before).
'completed' becomes 'over' ('over' can be a synonym of 'completed').
'once'+'over'='ONCE-OVER'
(Other definitions for once-over that I've seen before include "Rapid inspection" , "Quick appraisal" , "Cursory examination" , "Quick inspection" , "Quick survey" .)