Formerly needing more than a quick appraisal (4-4)
I believe the answer is:
once-over
'a quick appraisal' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'formerly needing more than' is the wordplay.
'formerly' becomes 'once' ('once' can be a synonym of 'formerly').
'needing' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'more than' becomes 'over' (I've seen this before).
'once'+'over'='ONCE-OVER'
(Other definitions for once-over that I've seen before include "Brief check" , "Rapid inspection" , "Quick survey" , "Appraising glance" , "Quick examination" .)