Dicky loved PE for what it allows him to do? (7)
I believe the answer is:
develop
'do?' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'dicky loved pe' is the wordplay.
'dicky' indicates anagramming the letters (dicky can mean not functioning properly).
'loved'+'pe'='lovedpe'
'lovedpe' anagrammed gives 'DEVELOP'.
'for what it allows him to' is the link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for develop that I've seen before include "Become larger or more mature" , "Work out in more detail" , "Grow, advance" , "Grow, progress" , "Convert (land) to new purpose" .)