Frightening figure in bank after vehicle impounded in half a tick? (9)
I believe the answer is:
scarecrow
'frightening figure' is the definition.
'bank after vehicle impounded in half a tick?' is the wordplay.
'bank' becomes 'row' (I've seen this in other clues).
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'vehicle' becomes 'car' (car is a kind of vehicle).
'impounded in' is an insertion indicator (I've seen this in other clues).
'half a tick?' becomes 'sec'.
'car' put inside 'sec' is 'scarec'.
'row' put after 'scarec' is 'SCARECROW'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for scarecrow that I've seen before include "Guy on field" , "One means of intimidation" , "Stuffed shirt for frightening birds" , "shabby one" , "Badly-dressed person" .)