Late? Soon it looks bad, as traffic jams form? (4,2,4)
I believe the answer is:
nose to tail
'traffic jams form?' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot tell whether it can be defined by this definition.
'late? soon it looks bad' is the wordplay.
'late? soon it' anagrams to 'NOSE TO TAIL'.
Though, I'm not clear how this is indicated.
'as' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nose to tail that I've seen before include "like rush-hour traffic!" , "Like dogs meeting" , "crawling along?" , "such busy traffic?" , "As cars in a jam" .)