Quiet word about old detectives returning a small amount (7)
I believe the answer is:
modicum
'a small amount' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'quiet word about old detectives returning' is the wordplay.
'quiet word' becomes 'mum' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'old' becomes 'o' (abbreviation as in OT - Old Testament).
'detectives' becomes 'CID' (abbreviation for Criminal Investigation Department).
'returning' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'cid' reversed gives 'dic'.
'o'+'dic'='odic'
'mum' placed around 'odic' is 'MODICUM'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for modicum that I've seen before include "Token amount" , "dash" , "A small amount as of drink" , "A small portion" , "Moderate quantity" .)