Boils ham - boiling calf's head is muddled (9)
I believe the answer is:
shambolic
'muddled' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'boils ham boiling calf's head' is the wordplay.
'boiling' indicates an anagram.
'head' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letter of 'calfs' is 'c'.
'boils'+'ham'='boilsham'
'boilsham' is an anagram of 'shamboli'.
'shamboli'+'c'='SHAMBOLIC'
'is' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for shambolic that I've seen before include "In a total mess" , "all over the place?" , "all over the shop" , "Disorderly" , "Chaotic, mismanaged" .)