Useless pub about to contest closing for night (11)
I believe the answer is:
incompetent
'useless' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'pub about to contest closing for night' is the wordplay.
'pub' becomes 'inn' (an inn is a type of pub).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'to contest' becomes 'compete' (I've seen this before).
'closing for night' becomes 't' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'inn' going around 'compete' is 'incompeten'.
'incompeten'+'t'='INCOMPETENT'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for incompetent that I've seen before include "Bungler" , "Lacking ability" , "Lacking in necessary skills" , "Unable to function" , "Bungling" .)