Head of house, one sounding inquisitive (5)

I believe the answer is:

prior

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'head of house' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I can't explain the rest of the clue.

(Other definitions for prior that I've seen before include "Preceding" , "More important" , "Source of poetry in 17th century" , "Former - churchman" , "head of a religious community" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app