Start to slip before fall? (7)
I believe the answer is:
stumble
'before fall?' is the definition.
'stumble' can be an answer for 'fall?' (thesaurus). I am not sure about the 'before' bit.
'start to slip' is the wordplay.
'start to' becomes 's' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'slip' becomes 'tumble' (tumble is a kind of slip).
's'+'tumble'='STUMBLE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stumble that I've seen before include "blunder" , "Slip - fall" , "Falter" , "Come near to falling while walking" , "Trip and nearly fall" .)