Earlier instance of damage to car by delinquent creep? (9)
I believe the answer is:
precedent
'earlier instance' is the definition.
'precedent' can be an answer for 'instance' (I have seen 'Previous instance' mean 'precedent' so perhaps 'instance' could also mean 'precedent'). I'm not certain of the 'earlier' bit.
'damage to car by delinquent creep?' is the wordplay.
'damage' becomes 'den' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to car' becomes 't'.
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'delinquent' indicates an anagram (a suspicious or criminal version of the letters).
'creep' with letters rearranged gives 'prece'.
'den'+'t'='dent'
'dent' after 'prece' is 'PRECEDENT'.
'of' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for precedent that I've seen before include "Previous case cited in court" , "Previous instance (as justification)" , "Previous example" , "Relevant earlier case in law" , "Past instance serving as example" .)