Minor condition of popular imagination (7)
I believe the answer is:
infancy
'minor condition' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both states of affairs as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'popular imagination' is the wordplay.
'popular' becomes 'in'.
'imagination' becomes 'fancy' (fancy is a kind of imagination).
'in'+'fancy'='INFANCY'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for infancy that I've seen before include "First stage of life" , "youth" , "Babyhood" , "Early years" , "Early stages of" .)