Fated somehow to have cardinal locked up — unlikely to locate the key? (4-4)
I believe the answer is:
tone-deaf
'locked up unlikely to locate the key?' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'fated somehow to have cardinal' is the wordplay.
'somehow' indicates anagramming the letters.
'to have' indicates putting letters inside.
'cardinal' becomes 'one' (a cardinal number).
'fated' anagrammed gives 'tdeaf'.
'tdeaf' enclosing 'one' is 'TONE-DEAF'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tone-deaf that I've seen before include "Unable to distinguish variations in musical pitch" , "Unable to distinguish differences in musical pitch" , "Unable to discriminate between musical notes" , "To deafen? (anag)" , "Unable to perceive musical pitch accurately" .)