Petty theft by revolting jerk, starting to evoke anger (9)
I believe the answer is:
pilferage
'petty theft' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'revolting jerk starting to evoke anger' is the wordplay.
'revolting' says the letters should be written backwards.
'jerk' becomes 'flip' (synonyms).
'starting to' suggests taking the first letters.
'anger' becomes 'rage' (rage is a kind of anger).
The initial letter of 'evoke' is 'e'.
'flip' backwards is 'pilf'.
'pilf'+'e'+'rage'='PILFERAGE'
'by' is the link.
(Other definitions for pilferage that I've seen before include "Minor stealing" , "Thefts" , "Theft (of small items)" , "Petty theft" .)