Car key terrible grating (6)
I believe the answer is:
creaky
'grating' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'car key terrible' is the wordplay.
'terrible' indicates an anagram.
'car'+'key'='carkey'
'carkey' is an anagram of 'CREAKY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for creaky that I've seen before include "Like an unoiled hinge; badly performed" , "Tending to squeak; badly made (colloq.)" , "Could describe a loose floorboard or arthritic limb" , "Giving a little sound" , "Old-fashioned (and unoiled)" .)