Classical maiden tripping over down with unknown speed (9)
'classical maiden tripping' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether it can be defined by this definition.
'over down with unknown speed' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'over' could be 'o' (cricket abbreviation) and 'o' is found in the answer.
an anagram of 'down' is 'wodn' which is located in the left over letters.
'unknown' could be 'y' (algebra) and 'y' is located in the answer.
'speed' could be 'mph' (miles per hour) and 'mph' is found within the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
'classical maiden' is the definition.
(maiden spirit in classical myth)
'tripping over down with unknown speed' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'over' could be 'o' (cricket abbreviation) and 'o' is found within the answer.
an anagram of 'down' is 'wodn' which is present in the left over letters.
'unknown' could be 'y' (algebra) and 'y' is found in the answer.
'speed' could be 'mph' (miles per hour) and 'mph' is present in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
(Other definitions for wood nymph that I've seen before include "Tree sprite" , "Dryad" .)