Brutal criminal got goaded (3-3-3)
I believe the answer is:
dog-eat-dog
'brutal' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'criminal got goaded' is the wordplay.
'criminal' indicates anagramming the letters.
'got'+'goaded'='gotgoaded'
'gotgoaded' anagrammed gives 'DOG-EAT-DOG'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dog-eat-dog that I've seen before include "Condition of savage self-interest" , "Savagely ruthless" , "Ruthless competition - savage self-concern" , "Savage self concern" , "Ruthless competition - self-interest" .)