Did turn briefly in subtle comedy (8)
I believe the answer is:
drollery
'comedy' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'did turn briefly in subtle' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'turn' could be 'roll' (roll is a kind of turn) and 'roll' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for drollery that I've seen before include "Jesting" , "jokes" , "comedy" , "Comical quality" , "Jest; buffoonery" .)