Corn loaf good, far from soft? (3-9)
I believe the answer is:
ear-splitting
'far from soft?' is the definition.
'corn loaf good' is the wordplay.
'corn' becomes 'ear' (an ear is a piece of corn).
'loaf' becomes 'splittin' (a split tin is a type of bread loaf).
'good' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'ear'+'splittin'+'g'='EAR-SPLITTING'
(Other definitions for ear-splitting that I've seen before include "Excessively loud" , "Painfully shrill" , "Deafeningly loud" , "Very loud and shrill" , "Extremely loud" .)