Knowing people would be drunk before time, it returned (8)
I believe the answer is:
literati
'knowing people' is the definition.
The definition suggests a plural noun which matches the answer.
'drunk before time it returned' is the wordplay.
'drunk before' becomes 'lit' (slang term. I am not sure about the 'before' bit.).
'time' becomes 'era' (era is a kind of time).
'returned' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'it' reversed gives 'ti'.
'lit'+'era'+'ti'='LITERATI'
'would be' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for literati that I've seen before include "Bookish types" , "intellectuals" , "The well-read intelligentsia" , "educated set" , "Well-read types" .)