Imp hobbling clumsily avoids hole (9)
I believe the answer is:
hobgoblin
'imp' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'hobbling clumsily avoids hole' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'hole' could be 'o' and 'o' is found within the answer.
an anagram of 'hobbling' is 'hbgoblin' which is present in the remaining letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hobgoblin that I've seen before include "Evil creature" , "Mischievous sprite - bugbear" , "Frightful apparition - mischievous fairy" , "Ugly elf" , "Evil fairy" .)