Comment on avoiding marriage to miserly spinster? (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
near miss
'comment on avoiding' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'marriage to miserly spinster?' is the wordplay.
'marriage' becomes 'm' (abbreviation in official records).
'to' means one lot of letters go next to another (I've seen this in other clues).
'miserly' becomes 'near' (both can mean reluctant to spend money).
'spinster?' becomes 'iss' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'm' put after 'near' is 'nearm'.
'nearm'+'iss'='NEAR MISS'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for near miss that I've seen before include "that doesn't quite hit the target" , "not a success" , "reason for alarm or relief on aircraft?" , "Not quite on target, but close" , "Not a direct hit, but very close" .)