Being secretive, finished in court (6)
I believe the answer is:
covert
'being secretive' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'finished in court' is the wordplay.
'finished' becomes 'over' (similar in meaning).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'court' becomes 'ct' (abbreviation used in road names).
'over' placed inside 'ct' is 'COVERT'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for covert that I've seen before include "18 [HIDDEN]" , "Secret - thicket" , "Not openly displayed" , "Clandestine, furtive" , "Concealed, hidden" .)