Used crib money on the unborn (9)
I believe the answer is:
embryonic
'unborn' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'used crib money on' is the wordplay.
'used' indicates anagramming the letters.
'on' says to put letters next to each other.
'crib' after 'money' is 'moneycrib'.
'moneycrib' is an anagram of 'EMBRYONIC'.
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for embryonic that I've seen before include "in its earliest stages" , "In a rudimentary stage" , "In early stage of development" , "In the early stages of development" .)