Put before duke, arranged in tiers (7)
I believe the answer is:
layered
'in tiers' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'put before duke' is the wordplay.
'put' becomes 'lay' (as in laying or putting something down).
'before' becomes 'ere' (poetic term for 'before').
'duke' becomes 'd' (abbreviation).
'lay'+'ere'+'d'='LAYERED'
'arranged' is the link.
This may not be right. It may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for layered that I've seen before include "in tiers" , "Tiered" , "with multilevel style" , "Arranged in strata" , "Like a particular hairstyle" .)